‘I’ll just say only MS Dhoni has mastered it’ – Rising star Riyan Parag after being retained by Rajasthan

All 10 teams in the Indian T20 League announced the list of their retained players for the next season. The mini-auction for the next season is set to be held on the 3rd of December. The Rajasthan team also retained a few players, including their rising star Riyan Parag.

Despite not lighting up the tournament in the way that Rajasthan would have liked him to in previous editions, the team has placed their trust in the 21-year-old. In response, Parag, who has been with the franchise for the last five years, expressed his gratitude to the Rajasthan team and revealed how, despite two very low-key seasons, everyone in the unit has backed him to the hilt.

“I think it’s very simple for me. The message is always clear: they believe in my abilities. 90 percent of the people don’t see what’s going on inside the team, how I am performing in practice matches, what I am doing. Everyone just sees the end product, which has been a bit rough for me. So everyone judges me on that. But the whole Royal family knows what I am capable of and what I have done in practice or even shown glimpses of it in matches. So the belief has always been there. They have backed me for four years. This is my fifth year now and I hope to repay them soon,” Parag told SportsKeeda.

I talked a lot to myself: Riyan Parag

The youngster discussed the low point in his ITL career and how he dealt with it. “2020 was a very low point in my career. And then, I talked a lot to myself and I figured out that only my opinion matters and no one else’s does. Even if Sangakkara and Sanju Samson tell good things about me and if I don’t believe in them, I think it doesn’t really make any sense or doesn’t have any impact on myself. So I think the outside noise is always there and will always be there. I do well and the same people are going to praise me and keep me as a king. So it doesn’t really matter. I know what I think of myself and I’ll stick to that,” he added.

He admits that batting lower is an art that few have mastered, with the exception of the great MS Dhoni, but Parag is preparing for the role and is confident that he will succeed.

“It’s the tougher job in T20 cricket, to just come in and slog. Numbers six and seven are the hardest places to play in T20 cricket. Only some of the guys have mastered it. Not even some, I’ll just say only MS Dhoni has mastered it and no one else has. And I am doing it at such an early stage in my career. Not even master it, I am just getting to close to knowing what it all feels like – I am just sorting my way through it. So people can just talk whatever they want, but I know how hard a job it is and my team believes in me,” Parag added.