Parag is expected to make his India debut in the upcoming T20I tour of Zimbabwe.
After years of underperformance in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Riyan Parag showed a glimpse of his exceptional talent this season.
Playing for Rajasthan Royals, the 22-year-old finished the campaign as the third highest run-getter with 573 runs to his name from 14 innings at a strike rate of 149.21, including four half-centuries.
Prior to IPL 2024, Parag also performed brilliantly for Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Ranji Trophy.
Many fans and experts wanted him to get picked in India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad, but the youngster was overlooked by the selectors.
Nonetheless, Riyan Parag earned his maiden India call-up for the upcoming T20I tour of Zimbabwe, starting on July 6 in Harare.
Ahead of his debut series with the national team, Parag expressed his desire to set up a roadmap for the people of his state to dream big and play for the country.
Parag, who became the Assam cricketer to receive India call-up, believes that people from his state limit themselves from thinking big.
"I would like to change that. I am not there [an international player] yet. I want to play for the country. Once I do, then people know they can have a pathway, a road map from one of their very own who got there. Now I have played in the IPL and there is realisation from the people that even if you are from a small state like Assam, you can get to that level. But the thing is, the IPL cannot be that big a goal. You can play for one year and fade away. But when I play for the country, when I make it to the country, I think that is when the actual road map will be set. They do not have to really follow it. They can have their own versions of it," Parag said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
On his breakthrough IPL season this year, Parag revealed that head coach and director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara told him to work harder after a poor showing in the 2023 edition.
"But over the years, I have always been very big on finding and fixing solutions myself, so I was not speaking to anyone actually. I was just trying to figure out what went wrong," he said.
"Why was I getting so much hate? Why was I getting negative energy from all the people except those from the Royals set-up? I tried to understand my game. And once I started doing that, I got this sudden love for getting into cricket a lot. I was never a big cricket geek, but today I like watching videos, analysing my game, comparing certain elements of my batting to someone that does some things better, and learning from it," he remarked.
On the work he put in for his sensational comeback in the IPL 2024, Parag attributed it to leaving the comfort zone.
"I went to the Rajasthan Royals Academy immediately after the [2023] IPL. It is hot, 45 degrees or something, and I would do three sessions a day, every day, for a month. It takes a lot of dedication to just go there, because it is a tough place, tough conditions, but then you have just got to get your work done, right? That has to come from within. That is what helped me, because I wanted to improve. I wanted to know more about my game, I wanted to plan different scenarios," he stated.
"Because I have been lost inside those 22 yards way too many times. I have been lost for options for what I needed to do in certain situations. I think once you go through all those phases, you understand that you need to have at least two to three options for every single ball. And for that, you need to practise. Those practices take a lot of time, but eventually, when you do it for a consistent period, I think it works out pretty well," he concluded his point.
With regards to online trolling, Riyan Parag said he decided to shut down the outside noise last year.
"And how I look at life is not how someone else is going to look at it. If I see something that is going on with a person but if I don't know what they are going through, I do not really share my opinion on it. But that is not how everyone sees it. Social media nowadays, even if you try to avoid it, you cannot, to be honest. Because if you open Instagram, you will just see something like that. You can just scroll [past] it, but there will be a thousand other posts. So you cannot really not see it. So I was just like, I might as well not open Instagram because I do not need it."
"It is not easy. But then again, after last year, I had a chat with myself. And this sort of a comeback is personal because I had to put up with stuff I did not really deserve. Maybe I have lacked in preparation, maybe I have lacked in a few things, but then I have always put my best foot forward. I thought I did not deserve all the trolling, but what could I do? People are going to say things regardless. Last year they said I was not good enough to play in the IPL. Now they want me in the Indian team. So people change, just like a switch," he said.
(With ANI Inputs)