IPL 2024: Shane Bond goes gaga over Riyan Parag’s talent, says he reminds him of Suryakumar Yadav

Rajasthan Royals bowling coach Shane Bond sees a bit of Suryakumar Yadav in Riyan Parag, RR’s star batter in IPL 2024. Parag has been the player in form for the RR, scoring 181 runs from three matches, including hitting two match-winning fifties. His unbeaten 54 off 39 balls against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on Monday (April 1) helped his team win its third game on the trot and climb to the top of the points table.

🔙 to🔙 half-centuries for Riyan Parag

He continues his good form with the bat 👏👏

Watch the match LIVE on @JioCinema and @StarSportsIndia 💻📱#TATAIPL | #MIvRR | @rajasthanroyals pic.twitter.com/tAnDaCghYm — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 1, 2024

Speaking of Parag’s maturity as a 22-year-old, Bond said the right-handed batter is extremely talented, reminding him of a young SKY, as fans call Surya when he joined Mumbai Indians a few years ago.

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"He sort of reminds me a little bit of Surya [Suryakumar], who came to Mumbai a few years ago," Bond said at the post-match press conference. "He looks like that - he has got extreme talent. He has just matured as a cricketer, even though he is only 22."

Meanwhile, after scoring a mere 68 runs from seven outings last season, Parag went back to the drawing board and worked extra yards to get to the position where he is. Acknowledging Parag’s hard work over the past year, Bond revealed the real reason behind trading Devdutt Padikkal for Avesh Khan was to move Parag up the order and utilise his potential to the maximum.

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"He has had an outstanding domestic season, obviously, batting up the order. The trade we made with Devdutt [Padikkal], bringing Avesh [Khan] in, that was to put Riyan up into a position which was probably better suited,” Bond continued.

‘We are getting the best out of him’

Bond said Parag shouldn’t just be judged on his previous performances over the past seasons, given he was young and new to high-octane cricket then. The former MI bowling coach, who joined RR ahead of this season, said with the wealth of experience on his back, Parag is delivering for his team and the side is happy to get the best out of him.

“Riyan started so young, you forget that he was 17 or something, playing in one of the toughest spots in a batting line-up: No. 6. You look at the characters, who finish games around the IPL, they are generally pretty experienced guys.”

“The Tim Davids, the David Millers… these are high-quality players who play international cricket. Riyan had been tasked with that for a number of years. He is still a very young man, but he has got this wealth of experience behind him now.”

"We are getting the best of him. The investment that RR have made of him, is starting to reap the rewards. It is pretty exciting what he could offer for the rest of the season for us,” Bond said of Parag.