Really happy that Riyan Parag is here with the team: Suryakumar Yadav

Youngster Riyan Parag was subjected to immense criticism after repeated failures in IPL. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals and despite giving him multiple chances to prove his worth, Parag failed to deliver until 2024, when he finally had his breakthrough year and got into the national team. The Assam-born cricketer smashed 573 runs in 14 matches in the cash-rich tournament and finished as the third-leading run-scorer, behind Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Notably, during the tournament, Suryakumar Yadav took to X and lauded Parag for his discipline and commitment towards the game. Four months later, Yadav was named the new captain of the India T20I team and will lead Parag in the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka. Ahead of the first T20I in Pallekele, the Mumbai-born cricketer once again lavished praises on Parag and reminded that the all-rounder dealt with the trolls well and that he is now happy to have him in the squad.

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“Trolling happens everywhere, not just in cricket, it happens in every sport. How a sportsman deals with it is important. I rate him very highly. I had said this before the IPL as well, when I had met him at NCA when both of us had gone there for rehab, I had told him that there is an 'X-Factor' in him. He just needs to sideline all the distractions and focus on this (his cricket). He realised that in the IPL, he was quite a different player in the last 3-4 years,” Suryakumar said in the pre-match press conference.

“I'm really happy for him. He has been performing well in domestic cricket as well for the last two years. Domestic cricket sets a good base, it's a good platform. It helps you understand how to score runs later in your career, in international cricket. It helps in that way. But I'm really happy that he's here with the team,” he added. 

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Riyan Parag may not make the cut into India's playing XI

Meanwhile, with Rishabh Pant, Surkyakumar, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya present, Riyan Parag may not crack into playing XI right away but the selectors are keeping a close eye on his development, which is why he is also named in the ODI squad.