From Heavy Trolling to Becoming the Most Deserving: Riyan Parag First Male Cricketer from Assam to Play For India

The Indian T20I set-up ushers into a new era with the tour of Zimbabwe, starting Saturday in Harare. The stalwarts, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, hung up their boots after winning the T20 World Cup, and thus passing the baton to the young guns who have already proven their mettle in the domestic circuit. Assam’s Riyan Parag is one of the Gen-Next stars hoping to follow in their footsteps after becoming the first male cricketer from the state to play for the country.

Assam does have an international cricket stadium but it’s yet to produce an international player. But Riyan scripted a new chapter in the history of Indian cricket, becoming the first player from the Northeast to play for the country as the youngsters in blue took the field against Zimbabwe.

It’s been quite a journey for Riyan since he played for India at the U-19 World Cup in 2018. The following year, he stormed into the Rajasthan Royals dressing room and over the years, has turned into a crucial cog in the RR set-up.

Also Read: Riyan’s First Reaction After Maiden India Call-up

The potential he showed notwithstanding, every time he endured a failure, Riyan was subjected to some heavy criticism on social media. The 22-year-old may not have played international cricket but is among the most trolled cricketers in the country, especially when playing in IPL.

However, his parents ensured that social policing didn’t impact their son.

Riyan’s father Parag Das, a former First-class cricketer himself, says keeping his son away from the online backlash wasn’t tough for the family because the young boy knows what to do.

“For us, it was easy. Actually, we spoke about that trolling part a few years back. So, I asked him a question whose answer I knew but I wanted to hear it from Riyan. I asked what he would do about this unending trolling. He said, ‘Papa what wrong am I doing? I have done nothing and still, this is the condition. What if I had done something’,” Das told CricketNext in an exclusive conversation during IPL 2024.

“That was the answer I wanted to hear from him. If the public is criticizing you, that means they expect you to perform. He only let the fans expect from him and when he wasn’t performing, they would surely criticized him. I asked him to think about how to get those praises back and performance was the only key to it,” he added.

The zeal for getting better pushed Riyan to get on top of his game and the previous domestic season was proof of the strides he took.

He had a stellar run, ending the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 as the leading run-getter; with 510 runs at a strike rate of 182.79. Additionally, he also picked up 11 wickets.

Then playing for East Zone in the Deodhar Trophy, he smashed 354 runs in five matches, the most in the tournament besides clinching 11 wickets too. He also carried his form into the Ranji Trophy, where he accumulated 378 runs at an average of 75.60 in four matches, including two centuries.

Riyan was in the same zone when he headed into IPL 2024. His ferocious form earned him the Orange Cap in the initial few games while he ended the season as the highest scorer for his team and third overall. He scored 573 runs at a strike rate of 149.22 in what was his best IPL season with the bat in hand.

A few media reports even claimed that the youngster is in the reckoning for the T20 World Cup but it wasn’t meant to be. He would eventually receive the national call-up for the Zimbabwe series starting July 6 in Harare.

In a select media interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network, former India cricketer and selector Saba Karim said that Riyan is a strong character and will definitely do well whenever given an opportunity.

“I think he’s a very balanced lad. In fact, I was expecting him to do well in the last 2023 IPL because he had a fabulous domestic season before that. Unfortunately, due to some reason, he was not able to perform up to his potential,” Karim said in response to News18 CricketNext query.

“I’m really glad that he could convert his domestic form into IPL form also this season around. So he’s got a solid base now. I think he comes from a very, very stable environment and I think all that will help him to overcome whatever hurdles he has faced in his life so far in terms of social media trolling.

“And he’s such a strong character. For him to still be focused on his game and not worry about the outside factors about which he has no control, that itself shows the kind of character he has. And if he can continue in the same way and I’m sure he’ll do well whenever he gets an opportunity to play for India,” he added