The Indian team management is looking to widen their pool of players. They are testing their bench strength for the upcoming 20-20 World Cup in the series against South Africa. India has rested their big names like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah. These are the perfect times for young players wanting to make it big in the national team.
While this is a chance the Indian aspirants would have been waiting for, the same is not the case for Riyan Parag. The young Indian batter is not content with his performances and is looking to make himself even more prepared before he gets his maiden national call-up.
Parag was a part of the Indian U-19 team, playing in a World Cup when he was just 16. But in his own words, until he has won his team six-seven matches in one season, he won’t be happy if he is considered for the international stage.
“Winning matches (for my team), I did that in a couple of matches but that’s not enough. If I can win six-seven matches for my team in a tournament only then I will be in the reckoning. Right now, even I won’t feel good if my name come up in the probables for the Indian team. I don’t deserve it right now. In the coming season, my confidence will rise if I can guide my team to more victories,”- Parag said during a recent conversation with Sportstak.
Parag was a part of the Rajasthan playing eleven for all the matches in the Indian T20 League 2022. But he managed to score just 183 runs in the tournament, with one half-century. However, a major reason why Parag wasn’t able to accumulate enough runs in the tournament was the fact that he batted in the lower middle order. This meant that he did not have enough time or deliveries to settle down before shifting gears. The 20-year-old batter however has no complaints about his batting position and wants to walk in the steps of the great MS Dhoni as a finisher.
“Happy with my batting position. I am not happy with the way I have batted though. I want to own that 6-7 spot. If you look around, only MS Dhoni’s name will come to your mind as someone who has established the role of a finisher. I approaching that, trying to learn and hopefully will be able to implement all my experience from next year onwards,”- Parag said.
Asked about his immediate plans, Parag said he wants to concentrate on domestic cricket for the time being. “Again, I have to get ready for the domestic season. Having one or two good seasons doesn’t matter. You have to be consistently performing in the domestic circuit, then ITL, and then able to play for India. Target is to have a good domestic season and in ITL,”- he concluded.
