Rajasthan Royals assistant coach Shane Bond has described in-form Riyan Parag as a player of “extreme talent” and compared him to a young Suryakumar Yadav who joined Mumbai Indians a few years ago and went on to become one of the most explosive T20 hitters in the league. world. The 22-year-old Parag has brought his rich form from domestic cricket to the IPL, scoring two quality fifties and helping Rajasthan register wins in all three matches so far.
Parag’s latest try came against Mumbai Indians in his side’s six-wicket victory on Monday. He dropped anchor to lead Royals’ chase of 126 and scored 54 not out off 39 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes.
“He (Parag) reminds me a bit of Surya (Suryakumar Yadav), who came to Mumbai a few years ago. He looks like this: He has extreme talent. He has just matured as a cricketer even though he is only 22,” Bond, who is also RR’s bowling coach, said at the post-match press conference.
Bond played a crucial role in developing MI’s bowling talents during his nine-year stint with the Mumbai-based franchise from 2015, before shifting base to Jaipur this year.
“He (Parag) has obviously had an excellent domestic season, topping the order. The trade we made with Devdutt (Padikkal), bringing in Avesh (Khan), was to put Riyan in a position that was probably better suited,” the former New Zealand fast bowler added.
Suryakumar, the world’s number one T20 batsman, joined MI in 2011 and spent four years with Kolkata Knight Riders from 2014 to 2017 before being brought back to Mumbai in 2018. He is recovering from a recent operation. Bond said Parag has had to play the role of a finisher in the IPL at a young age, while other teams have experienced international players in that role.
“Riyan started so young, you forget he was 17 or something, playing in one of the toughest spots in a No. 6 batting line-up. Look at the characters who finish games around the IPL, they are generally quite experienced guys ,” he said.
“(The) Tim Davids, (the) Dave Millers… these are high quality players playing international cricket. Riyan has been in charge of this for a number of years. He is still a very young man, but he now has a wealth of experience behind him.
“We get the best out of him. The investment RR has made in him is starting to pay off. It’s quite exciting what he can offer us for the rest of the season.” Bond also felt that Yuzvendra Chahal, who pulled off a slim 4-0-11-3 win for Rajasthan on Monday, could be ‘selfless’ back in India if he continues to perform.
“The competition is quite tough, so one of the real challenges for any bowler coming into this tournament is forgetting that there is a World Cup, and you start bowling to get into a World Cup team,” he said.
“If your team is successful, you are on a winning team, selections and rewards come from that. That’s been more of our focus, to forget all that other outside noise and just work really hard for each other.
“If we do that, I have no doubt that people will start talking like you are now about Chahal and whether he will play in a World Cup or not. He is bowling beautifully and if he continues to do so, we have a huge chance in this tournament,” he added.
Bond said knowing about opponents also helps strategize for his current team.
“Obviously when you’ve spent so much time with certain players, watching them every day and talking to them about their game and the way they see the game, it certainly helps,” he said.
“It was quite fun being on the other side of the team. A few layoffs, you get a lot of satisfaction from that.” MI pacer Akash Madhwal said a new pitch at the Wankhede Stadium helped bowlers in the first match but maintaining tight lines was equally crucial.
“We had to get our basics right and bowl in the line of the stumps. The pitch had some help for the fast bowlers,” said Madhwal, who returned 3/20.
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