Rahul Dravid backs Riyan Parag captaincy call despite twin failures: 'In the game against KKR, his brave decision to...'

It has been a rough start to life for Riyan Parag in his brief captaincy stint for Rajasthan Royals, dropping to losses in the first two games while stepping in for Sanju Samson. Nevertheless, RR coach Rahul Dravid had bright words for Parag, a player he has known from his U-19 days and now a central figure in this IPL setup.

"I think he's adapted really well," Dravid said in the press conference ahead of RR’s next match against CSK. "It's not easy to captain when [SRH] is scoring 280 runs on a flat wicket. The first game is probably a tough game to be a captain. But I think the calmness that he showed and the fact that it didn't seem like our team was panicking was really good.”

RR conceded 286 against SRH in their season opener, losing by 44 runs, before KKR also beat them by eight wickets. They are hunting for their first win of their season as they take on CSK in Parag’s home state of Assam on Sunday.

"Even in the game against KKR, his brave decision to bring himself on, realising that the wicket was turning, with two left-handers batting, to bowl the fifth over in the powerplay, was a brave decision and a correct decision,” said Dravid about Parag’s tactical decision.

“So I think he's been very impressive. As a captain, it's nice for him to get this opportunity till Sanju is able to field again. And he's sharing his thoughts and his ideas. Very clear. He's very solid in that sense,” said Dravid about Parag’s captaincy. Samson, who is recovering from a finger injury, is expected to return to captaincy this week.

Dravid backs Parag to come good after promotion to 3

Dravid also spoke about using Riyan Parag at number three, a crucial position in all forms of cricket. Parag had a breakout year with bat up the order in IPL 2024, scoring 573 runs to finish third in the orange cap race. However, that was at number four, and he is expected to be the regular number three this season.

"That's the right word to use, that he's promoted. Look, Riyan is one of our best batters, let's be honest,” explained Dravid. “And we want to give him as many balls as we possibly can. Twenty overs is a very short time and the more balls Riyan Parag bats for us, the better it is for us as a team."

Nonetheless, Dravid kept the door open for flexibility, with Nitish Rana also an option in that position. This provides RR a solid choice when it comes to match-ups or preserving left-right partnerships after the opening duo of Samson-Jaiswal.

"But of course, these things we'll keep looking at, we'll keep assessing, we'll keep seeing how it goes. And yeah, we know that Riyan has done really well at No. 4, so it gives us an option,” concluded the Rajasthan coach.