17 years old Riyan Parag has become the talk of the town after aiding his IPL team Rajasthan Royals to win a thriller against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 12th edition of the IPL. When asked whom he idolizes as a cricketer, he instantly admitted that he admires Indian batswoman Smriti Mandana and tries to imitate her style of batting.
Although his childhood heroes also include batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and ViratKohli, in the current generation, Smrithi Mandana is the one whom he takes inspiration from. During a Red Bull cricket campus event in Jaipur here is what he said “My dad is one of them (idols). He has to be the first one. Then there’s Sachin (Tendulkar) sir and Virat Kohli. And in women’s cricket, I’ve followed Smriti Mandhana since she used to wear glasses and play with a BAS bat. I was really young then. I love the way she times the ball and caresses it through point. I’ve tried copying that as well but it didn’t work out,”
During the event, he also shared his experience playing the IPL “I have learned a lot from my first IPL stint. In IPL, you play with your idols and legends of the game. Just to share the dressing room was surreal,” Riyan Parag said.
He also shared his mental preparation before the match and said he doesn’t like practicing in the nets as he feels locked. “Actually, I hate batting in the nets. It’s just the closed environment. I feel someone has got a hold of me and I am like captured and locked.”
“Even before the matches, I try to hit as many sixes as possible,” He further added.
When Riyan Parag was asked the most challenging moment in the IPL 2019 season, he replied “The time I felt really nervous this season was before the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. I don’t have a great record at the Eden Gardens. Before the KKR game, I’d scored nine runs in each of the three innings I’d played there. So the knock I played that day is the most special one for me this season. I feel pressure brings out my A-game.”
If you don’t remember the match, it was a match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders, where Riyan Parag scored a match-winning 47 of 31 balls and took KKR to victory after chasing 176 runs on the board making the Eden gardens crowd jaw dropped.
When someone asked his reaction on the comments made on him on the social media, here is how he responded “Yes, I do. I had this conversation with Ben Stokes after the Mumbai Indians match this season, where I did well and contributed with the bat. I asked him if he reads comments online and he said that he does no matter how he performed on the field that day.”
“You can’t really hide from that. If you post something on Instagram, people are going to tell you things to your face. And you’re bound to read those comments. But like I said, it’s all about keeping things simple and not thinking about it too much,” he added.
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