IPL 2024 | “All teams must beware of Riyan’s batting prowess": Trevor Gonsalves

Riyan Parag with Trevor Gonsalves

Rajasthan Royals's Riyan Parag has finally begun to do justice to his enormous batting talent. Having got his desired No. 4 slot, Parag, 22, scored a match-winning 43 and unbeaten 84 in the first two matches this season (v Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals respectively). Playing in his sixth IPL season for RR, the batting all-rounder from Assam has featured in 54 matches before this edition, scoring 600 runs at a miserable average of 16.22 with only two fifties.

Top domestic form

Parag, a member of the victorious 2018 India U-19 World Cup team that included Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh, acknowledged after the win over DC that the confidence gained from scoring in domestic tournaments has helped him. He topped the batting charts in the 2023-24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, amassing 510 runs at 85.00 at a strike rate of 182.79 with seven fifties. In the Ranji Trophy, he played only four matches, accumulating 378 runs with two centuries and one half-ton. In 2022-23, he was in top form during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, garnering 552 runs at 69.00 with three centuries and a half-century.

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Chief coach of Assam since 2022-23, Trevor Gonsalves, who is currently the assistant bowling coach at Punjab Kings, told mid-day that he has been working on Parag's mental strength. "Riyan's graph has gone higher and higher since 2022-23. He looks matured. He had an exceptional T20 season. It was bad that he got injured in the first match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and had to go to the NCA for rehabilitation. He played just four Ranji matches as his shoulder troubled him again," Gonsalves said.

"There's been a big transformation over the last two years in Riyan's batting. While his technique has changed a bit, the biggest part is that his mental ability has changed, as has his approach to a game," added Gonsalves.

State captaincy crucial

"Making him captain of Assam gave him additional responsibility and that really mattered in his progress. I need not teach him techniques of batting as there are coaches at RR and NCA doing that. I worked on his mental side. He may have lacked confidence earlier and I ensured he didn't get carried away," said Gonsalves, a former Vidarbha medium-pacer in the 1990s, before sounding out a warning: "All teams must beware of Riyan's batting prowess. He has a very bright future. He's a shrewd cricketer. All he needs is a bit of backing. He's a complete cricketer who can excel in all departments."