Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag has responded to criticism this season, saying he has learned to keep outside chatter away from his cricket and asking commentators to concentrate on the game.
Learning to tune out the noise
Parag has been under scrutiny despite scoring 258 runs at a strike rate of 151.76. He was also recently in the headlines for an off-field incident involving vaping in the dressing room, which drew wide attention on social media.
Speaking after the match, he said he has come to understand that people will talk whatever he does, and that such talk should not influence his form or mindset. In his view, online critics belong outside the dressing room.
A plea to pundits
Parag said many things were happening off the field in this year’s IPL and reminded people that players are human and make mistakes. He also expressed disappointment with some commentary, arguing that it is easy to say a team bowled out for 75 or 80 does not want to play or does not know how to, when there is preparation behind every match. He asked commentators to love the game, talk about it and keep the conversation on the sport.
The match
Rajasthan chased down 221 thanks to a 38-ball 93 from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, keeping their playoff hopes alive ahead of the final league game against Mumbai Indians. Parag himself missed the match with a hamstring problem, although he was named in the impact players list beforehand.
