IPL 2023: Riyan Parag fails once again as RR manages to defeat GT

In the 23rd match of the IPL 2023 last year finalists came head to head again as Rajasthan Royals finally took their revenge against Gujarat Titans. The last year’s runner-up defeated the defending champions. One of the talking points in the RR lineup has been Riyan Parag’s performance. Riyan Parag has failed to make a mark in the four matches he has played this season.

Parag’s place in the RR lineup has been questioned by many fans and even some experts. In this year’s IPL, the young batter from Assam has managed to score just 39 runs. The mere total of 39 runs has come at almost a run-a-ball strike rate as he has batted for 36 balls to score these runs.

Before the 16th season of the Indian Premier League started, Riyan Parag expressed his excitement and confidence through a tweet. “My inner conscience says I’m hitting 4 sixes in an over at some point this IPL,” tweeted Riyan Parag before the IPL 2023 season began.

Riyan Parag in last 10 innings

In his previous 10 matches in the IPL, Riyan Parag has failed to register a half-century. His highest score during this period came against Punjab Kings in the 8th match of this season. In this match, he scored just 20 runs off 12 balls.

Here are his scores in the previous ten innings for the Rajasthan Royals.

5 (7) – vs. Gujarat Titans

7 (11) – vs. Delhi Capitals

20 (12) – vs. Punjab Kings

7 (6) – vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad

15 (15) – vs. Gujarat Titans (2022)

4 (3) – vs. Gujarat Titans (2022)

10* (10) – vs. Chennai Super Kings (2022)

19 (16) – vs. Lucknow Super Giants (2022)

9 (5) – vs. Delhi Capitals (2022)

0* (1) – vs. Punjab Kings (2022)

Does Parag deserve to be in the RR lineup?

It is an astonishing fact that last year when RR finished as the runner-up, Riyan Parag featured in their lineup in every one of the 17 matches they played in that season. Even this season out of the 5 matches, RR has played he was dropped in their 4th match but he featured once again in last night’s game.

But other than his innings of 56* (31) against the RCB, he has been unable to record a single half-century to his name.

It is reasonable to say that, in addition to receiving more opportunities than his fair share merely because of his talent and reputation, any other uncapped batter or player for that matter would have been removed from the team by this point.

Having said that if you take a look at the RR lineup it is hard to pick an Indian player who could replace the 21-year-old. There is an indirect change that could help bolster the RR side.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c) (wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal (replaced by Devdutt Padikkal), Sandeep Sharma.

If you take a look at this team combination what the RR management can do is replace Adam Zampa with Murugan Ashwin which would free up a foreign player spot. Further Riyan Parag could be replaced by the West-Indian all-rounder, Jason Holder.

Also Read: Top 10 forgotten IPL stars

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