IPL 2022: “They have seen something in him” – Sanjay Manjrekar questions RR’s backing of Riyan Parag
Former Indian cricket-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned Rajasthan Royals for backing Riyan Parag heavily. Riyan has been representing Rajasthan Royals for three seasons now and aspires to be a finisher for the team. However, the youngster hasn’t been able to justify his place in the playing 11 yet. More often than not, Riyan Parag receives a lot of flak from fans and pundits alike.
Rajasthan Royals have assembled a strong squad in the IPL 2022. In the batting department, they have a strong top-four, including Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, and Shimron Hetmyer. Meanwhile, they have a bowling unit consisting of Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Ashwin, Trent Boult, and Prasidh Krishna.
However, RR are still looking thin in the lower-middle order department as they lack a finisher. Hence, they have entrusted youngster Riyan Parag to complete the job for them towards the fag end of the innings. The all-rounder, however, has failed to live up to the expectations and managed only 43 runs in 4 innings.
Sanjay Manjrekar criticises Rajasthan Royals for backing Riyan Parag
Questioning Rajasthan Royals for backing Parag, Sanjay Manjrekar said the franchise had seen something unique in the youngster which no one else had seen in the previous three years.
“Riyan Parag, in two full IPL seasons, and he averaged about 11. His strike rate was around 110. But, they went for him in this auction and bought him at a much higher price of ₹3.8 crore. There’s something that they have seen in him, which we haven’t seen in last three years. He’s young and I hope eventually we get to see why they keep going for Riyan Parag, with the kind of returns that he has given,” Manjrekar said to ESPNCricinfo.
Rajasthan Royals bought Riyan Parag for a whopping amount of INR 3.8 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction. However, he hasn’t managed attractive numbers in his IPL career. Parag has scored 382 runs in 35 matches at an average of 15.92. He also has accounted for four wickets with the ball.