At the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, Riyan Parag performed the leadership duties for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as their regular skipper Sanju Samson battled fitness issues.

While Samson was fit to bat in the initial few games, he didn't have the fitness to keep wickets or do fielding at any position. Hence, the RR team management used him only as an Impact Player, which paved the way for Parag to make his captaincy debut in IPL.

However, the decision came as a surprise to many experts, who felt Riyan Parag was too young to be named the captain of the side.

Nitish Rana, who has the experience of leading the Kolkata Knight Riders in the past, was also a name that was suggested by a few. But Rana himself backed the management’s decision to give the leadership baton to Parag.

"When I was made captain of KKR, I had been with the team for 6-7 years. That helped a lot because I understood the team culture and environment. Now, with RR, I think Riyan knows the team's setup better than me. And I think it was absolutely the right decision by the management," Rana said ahead of the Royals' match against Delhi Capitals.

"If they had asked me, of course, I would've happily accepted the captaincy. But what matters most is what's right for the team. And I think they made the correct call," he added.

In RR’s third match of the season against CSK, Nitish Rana played a stunning knock of 81. Since then, the southpaw has managed to register scores of 12, 1 and 4*.

However, Rana isn't too concerned and is only keen on fulfilling the role given to him by the team.

"Things are very different on the ground. Sometimes, the match situation demands something else. Often, a left-right combination becomes very important in a format like the IPL. In a couple of matches, I didn't get much chance to bat."

"Whatever the team demands from me, I try my best to fulfill that. Earlier, I batted lower down the order. Then in the third match, they asked me if I would bat at number three. I said yes, and I scored around 80 or so. So I just try to deliver what the team expects of me. And I'm always okay with that," he said.