'I was on painkillers, I just got up today' - Riyan Parag opens up on his struggles after dreamy knock against DC

Rajasthan Royals young batting sensation Riyan Parag has finally begun repaying the faith the franchise had shown in him over the past few years with his back-to-back match-winning innings in IPL 2024. After his brilliant innings of 43 (29) in the opening game against Lucknow Super Giants, Parag played a scintillating knock of 84* (45) in the second game of the season against Delhi Capitals.

Courtesy of his knock, the Sanju Samson-led side recovered from a precarious situation of 36/3 after 7.2 overs to post a massive total of 185/5 in their allotted 20 overs. Following his game-changing knock, the 22-year-old opened up on his struggles ahead of the game and revealed that he was bedridden for three days.

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"I have worked very hard, the last 3 days I was in bed, I was on painkillers, I just got up today and I'm very happy. (Emotions) They are settled, mom is here, she has seen the struggle, the last 3-4 years,” said Parag in the post-match presentation.

Notably, ahead of the IPL season, the Assam cricketer was having a dream run in domestic cricket being the leading run-scorer of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023. The right-handed batter scored 510 runs to his name from ten innings at an average of 85 and a strike rate of 182.79 with seven fifties.

Parag was second highest run scorer for Assam in Ranji Trophy

He further had a brilliant season in the Ranji Trophy 2024 finishing as the second-highest run-scorer for Assam with 378 runs to his name from six innings at an average of 75.6 and a strike rate of 113.82 with two hundreds and one fifty.

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Following his prolific run in domestic cricket, Parag has been promoted to the number four spot in the ongoing season and has repaid the trust shown by the team management in the tournament so far. The 22-year-old will be eager to plunder runs in the remaining games and even get into contention for selection in the T20 World Cup 2024 squad.