"...that is why I play the best": Riyan Parag

Riyan Parag (Pic: File Pic)

"I am going to play for India no matter what", said Riyan Parag while believing in his abilities and skill set.

"At some point, you'll have to take me, right? So that is my belief, I'm going to play for India. I don't really care when," Parag would sound bullish yet confident during his exclusive interaction with PTI on Wednesday.

No youngster has polarised opinions in a short span of time as the 22-year-old from Assam, Riyan Parag accumulated 573 runs at a strike rate of close to 150 while batting at number four for Rajasthan Royals.

In the last five years in the Indian Premier League, Riyan Parag, a 2008 U-19 World Cup winner didn't enjoy a 200-run season. Additionally, social media was more than enough to pull him down.

"When I was not scoring runs I said this in an (earlier) interview as well that I am going to play for India," Parag said on the sidelines of a Red Bull Campus Cricket tournament here on Wednesday, a tournament he lauded for giving exposure to talented youngsters.

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"That is me believing in myself. That is not me being arrogant. That is what my plan was with my dad (former Railways and Assam player Parag Das), when I started playing cricket when I was like 10-years-old. We (a joint project) were going to play for India regardless of anything." Ahead of the Zimbabwe tour, there are chances for Parag, Abhishek Sharma and Harshit Rana to get their maiden national call-up.

"Whether it's the next tour, whether it's a tour in six months, whether it's a tour in one year... I don't really put my thought behind when I should play. That is the selector's job, that is other people's job," Riyan said.

Having understood the flipside of social media, the youngster has stopped taking things to heart. "You've got to be very quick and very sharp when reacting to things. Social media and all of that play a big part with mental pressure. Because once you start listening to those things... it always starts in a merry way, right?, he asked.

"Once you start performing, people really hype you up. Once you start reading that, you get that satisfaction of listening to other people or watching other things."

In the recently concluded IPL 2024, Riyan Parag made the most of the opportunities provided. "But what I've figured out in the last year or two is that I've got to have an undeniable stack of proof that I belong at this level. Which means (that) me practising a lot, me practising at that level, practising those situations, Parag said.

"The biggest thing that I've taken away from the last season is that believing in yourself actually works out, because a lot of people say a lot of different things, whether it's negative, whether it's positive. But at the end of the day, what matters is what you think about yourself and that is what I've been for," he said.

Being aware of his poor performances in the previous editions of the IPL, Riyan Parag opened up by saying, "I had a lot of rough seasons, more than (the) nice ones and I feel having that constant belief in yourself, that you actually belong in this level, that you can actually do things that you (had) dreamt of, has been a constant and that will stay throughout."

"What you saw this year in the IPL is how I play domestic cricket. I take the onus up to myself, I take the expectations, I take the burden upon myself to deliver and that is why I play the best," he said.

"I was not doing that in the IPL. I was taking way too much pressure, keeping my expectations way too high and not doing the basic things right.

Additionally, playing at a crucial No 4 slot for RR also worked. "That is what I figured (that) I had to do this year; of playing at my favourite position as well, No 4 . I was like, okay, "I do this at domestic cricket, this is the same thing I'm going to do in IPL and let's see how it goes". It worked out perfectly, he said.

Rajasthan Royals as a whole had a great IPL 2024 season as they finished third in the league stage. But later when they crashed out, Riyan acknowledged there is still some disappointment lingering on

"I'm still dealing with it. I got back home and I was super sad. The night after the game, it didn't really sink in. But then the day after the match, and before the final, it was tough," he said.

"It's tough, but then that's how cricket goes. There are world-class sides that are playing the tournament, world-class players that are playing the tournament," Parag added.

(With PTI Inputs)