XtraTime Web Desk: When Riyan Parag scored his first fifty in 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL), he was only 17 years 175 days. He was the youngest cricketer in the history of the cash rich league, getting past the previous record held by Sanju Samson and Prithvi Shaw (18 years 169 days). Parag was roped in by Rajasthan Royals at a base price of 20 lakhs during the IPL auction in 2019.
Son of a cricketer, Riyan hails from the North Eastern state of India in Assam. For Riyan, sports was quite obvious as he had a sporting background. His mother, Mithoo, was a national swimming champion, while his father Parag Das was a cricketer. His father represented Assam and Railways during the course of a 15-year career. Many years ago, his father played with MS Dhoni in Railways’ tournaments together in Kharagpur and Guwahati. They even finished top of the run-charts for their department in the Inter-Railways competitions in Nagpur in 2004, just before Dhoni’s international debut. They have also played against each other in the Ranji Trophy, when Dhoni turned up for Bihar several years ago. It was only coincidental that 17 year old Riyan made his IPL debut against Chennai Super Kings, with the talisman leading the Chennai side.
Riyan made his Twenty20 debut for Assam during the 2016-17 seasons, and soon caught the eyes of junior selectors. In October 2017 he was named in India’s squad for the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup. Following a successful stint, Riyan was picked for his senior state team for Ranji Trophy on November 17, 2017. He was also picked for the India U19 side for the 2018 U19 World Cup which went on to win the tournament.
At 18, Riyan is already making headlines with his leg spin and hard hitting. He has shown that he has the temperament in the few IPL knocks that he has played so far, and it suggests that he is one for the future. One would hope that Riyan goes on to have a successful IPL 2020 for Rajasthan Royals.