Rajasthan Royals’ player Riyan Parag during a training session ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders, at ACA Stadium, in Guwahati on March 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Riyan Parag may be a bit nervous on Wednesday (March 26, 2025), but he will be excited, too. Not everyone gets an opportunity to lead a side at one’s hometown, that too at the age of 23.
“I am looking forward to the match against Kolkata Knight Riders and the conditions are familiar for me,” Parag said on the eve of the Royals’ first match in this city this season.
“It has been a long journey for me at the Royals. I have been here since the age of 17 and the management showed trust in me, and that is a big thing.”
Parag, who is standing in for Sanju Samson, acknowledged that bowling was an issue against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“We spoke about it,” he said. “We had a meeting today. Depending on the situation, we will decide and execute our plans.”
Like the Royals, KKR too had suffered a loss in its first match, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The bowling coach Bharat Arun said the team wasn’t too worried about it.
“There are a lot of positives, and lessons to be learnt,” Arun said.
“We could have capitalised and got more runs. We will learn and get better. He said the wicket seemed good. “We hope to get a good contest,” he said.
Arun also felt that every team is well-balanced and the ones which do better in crucial moments of the game will win.
“Every team is evenly balanced. Teams that snatch those crucial moments at any given point of time are going to win,” he added.
Published – March 26, 2025 05:45 am IST