Parag was at his best against RCB on Tuesday (Pic Credits: The Quint)
In different parts of the world, people have found themselves in situations where they feel they have everything covered. The bills to be paid at the end of the month. The personal relationships to be maintained, and of course, the task at hand that needs to be performed. All roads also seemingly lead towards this outcome, wherein their innate talent comes to the fore and renders whatever others think moot.
For some reason, though, it just doesn’t happen often enough. It isn’t because there is a lack of effort or a lack of skill. But probably because it takes time for things to align themselves together. In that stretch, there are plenty doubting your credentials, firing jibes at you, and telling you that you don’t deserve to be where you are.
Some even say you’ve been given this position because you or some relative knows someone in the top brass. Or, more bluntly, because someone in the top brass has a fascination with you that no one knows about.
In sport and in cricket, too, this is a very common occurrence. Every year, at the IPL auction, there is at least one bidding war that leaves viewers puzzled. The paddle keeps going up for a player many expect to fail, and when that particular cricketer is eventually sold, there is already an over-priced tag attached to him.
Riyan Parag was acquired for a relatively hefty sum by RR
It wasn’t much different a few months ago when the Rajasthan Royals coughed up ₹3.8 Cr for Riyan Parag. Not just because he struggled in 2021, but also because there seemed to be other viable alternatives available. Oh, and that part about Parag’s horse having bolted at RR was another thing people had a problem with.
To add to all of that, Parag seems a character who can divide opinion. For his staunchest supporters, the enthusiasm, the celebrations (albeit slightly dodgy), and the zeal sets him apart because, well, he showcases those traits irrespective of where his personal performance is at. For those questioning his ability, it often becomes a question of whether he cares enough and whether he is invested in the cause.
Till a week ago, the latter narrative had prevailed in the IPL. Parag wasn’t scoring many runs. He was leaking them when called upon to bowl. And, wasn’t doing anything spectacular in the field. When RR had bought him, it was to be a three-dimensional presence in their lower middle order and provide them the flexibility they craved. But apart from being cast into the spotlight when Ravichandran Ashwin tactically retired himself out, there was very little to get excited about.
So, when RR slipped to 68/4 inside 10 overs, there were moans and groans among their faithful. With Jos Buttler having departed too, RR had their backs against the wall. In Shimron Hetmyer, they seemed to have someone capable of turning the tide in a trice.
He didn’t walk out to bat, though. Instead, it was Parag, meaning that those at the venue and at the ground were engulfed with mixed emotions. They wanted to see what this lad could do, of course. But not when RR are competing against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and when Hetmyer is waiting in the wings, right?
For the next hour and a bit, the conversation was no longer about what Parag does on social media, the dances he has learnt, the celebration he attempts to recreate or how much money RR unnecessarily spent on him at the auction. Instead, there are murmurs around how this youngster could actually be the real deal – just a few days after people had seemingly written him off and had deduced that he was playing just because Rajasthan didn’t have anyone else.
From a cricketing standpoint, everything that could go right for Parag did. He attacked the spinners, sat deep against the pacers and made the most of whatever scoring opportunities came his way. The most poignant aspect, though, was that he even scored when bowlers didn’t err in their lines and lengths. That, as people would testify, is not a gift many are blessed with, especially at such a young age.
Parag’s pyrotechnics also drew an animated reaction from Harshal Patel, whom he smacked for 18 runs. While there is still no clarity on what was said between the pair, the fact that the pacer didn’t even shake his hand post the game was illustrative that some sort of needle existed. It isn’t something that should be advertised but highlights that Parag can get under the skin of his opponents – either by his sheer cricketing skill or by some of the other things he does on the field.
Another interesting facet was him being promoted over Hetmyer. Remember, this is a team that tactically retired Ashwin out to give Parag to license to explode towards the end. Batting for the better part of 10 overs doesn’t really qualify under that yardstick, meaning that RR, despite whatever was going around, trusted Parag enough to throw him into the deep end.
Over the past couple of years, he has primarily been used as a finisher – someone who tries to bash the first ball he faces and unsurprisingly, doesn’t have a great average. But both of his IPL fifties have come when averting collapses.
Against the Delhi Capitals in 2019, he came out to bat with the scoreboard reading 30/4. On Tuesday, RR were tottering at 68/4 after 9.3 overs. His other remarkable knock – against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2020, arrived when RR had slipped to 78/5 in pursuit of 159.
So, a case could be made that Parag thrives a bit more when he has time to get acclimatized to his surroundings. That’s part of what he seeks to achieve when playing for Assam in domestic cricket too.
In the IPL, though, such chances could remain an anomaly. Not just because there are other people capable of playing that role. But most importantly, because there aren’t many in the Rajasthan set-up who have the ability to throw caution to the wind from the outset at the death like Parag.
That is, in many ways, his greatest strength and his biggest impediment. Owing to his six-hitting ability, it will take something drastic for the perception around Parag to change. That, however, will also mean that he will bat in a high-risk, high-reward situation more often than not, where his record will suffer but his tenability to the side won’t.
RR have perhaps known this too. Hence, the outlay at the auction. Parag also seems to understand what is expected of him and how failures will accrue along the way. Irrespective of whatever social media buzz he is creating, he might actually be burning the midnight oil to be the best version of himself.
But that’s not how the world has viewed him. For them, his failures are because he likes to spend time on social media and because he has a video-gaming inclination. To him and his team, it was never about these things or the social media content he would create. It was always about how he could bring something different to the side.
After that essay against RCB, Parag is probably showing the world what RR have seen in him all along. Considering how much flak he has drawn in the past couple of years, that is a brazen display of how much he cares. And, of course, a proclamation of how much he can be when on the field.
