Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Rajasthan Royals for continuously backing under-fire Riyan Parag. The youngster has been given the onus of finishing the innings but he hasn’t been able to deliver the goods for the team. Parag once again could not provide the finishing touches as he was dismissed after scoring 18 runs off just 16 balls against Gujarat Titans at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on Thursday.
The 20-year-old has scored 382 runs in 34 matches at an average of 15.92 and a strike rate of 119.75 in his IPL career. The youngster has failed to deliver as a finisher but still, he has received consistent chances in the playing XI.
Manjrekar said that the franchise has seen something in Riyan Parag that they haven’t seen in the last three years. Rajasthan Royals decided to retain Riyan Parag in IPL 2022 for INR 3.8 crores in the mega auction.
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar said: “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 crores. There’s something that they have seen in him, which we haven’t seen in the 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.”
On the other hand, Sanjay Manjrekar was impressed with Yash Dayal, who made his IPL debut for Gujarat Titans on Thursday. Dayal dismissed Devdutt Padikkal on a golden duck as he got extra bounce from the surface. The youngster also accounted for Rassie van der Dussen when the South African was getting into his groove. The left-arm pacer scalped three wickets but he was a tad expensive as he conceded 40 runs in his quota of four overs.
“What I have seen with Yash Dayal, forget about how many runs were scored against him, is that he can get the ball up there at pace. He’s got the bounce and he is also quick in the air when he bowls full. This is a guy you’ve got to keep backing because he has got some exciting fundamentals to build on.”
Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting was also impressed with the youngster as impressed with his accuracy in his four-over spell.
“He was really nice to watch. He copped a bit of stick against Buttler early on, but it was good to see the way he bounced back. The way he pulled it back and stemmed the flow of runs was impressive.”
Rajasthan Royals will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.
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