'You can just text me': RR star replies to former cricketers, commentators criticising his game

The Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) had their moments in the last two IPL seasons, in 2022 and 2023, but failed to get hold of the trophy. Riyan Parag, who debuted in IPL during RR's campaign in 2019, has been a part of the one-time winners and been given a long rope despite his poor returns.

So far, Parag has 600 runs in 54 games at 123.97 and a woeful average of 16.22. However, he enjoyed a long rope in the playing XI after sitting out on a few games during IPL 2023. Amid his below-par returns, many former cricketers and experts of the game have slammed the 21-year-old as he has immense potential but fails to get going.

Recently, RR's official Twitter account shared a video with the caption: “Trolled and tested but tough as ever. This is Riyan Parag: Raw and real.” The clip openswith cricket analyst and pundit Joy Bhattacharjya taking a dig at the Assam all-rounder, claiming Rajasthan have played with five bowlers, five batters, and Parag during an old video from Cricbuzz live.

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'Hey, I know this is how you play cricket, but if you do this....'

To this, Parag has now responded to all his critics and asked former cricketers and commentators to message him directly rather than taking a dig on social media or other platforms. He started by saying, "People pay their hard-earned money to come and watch us perform, not play. Us not performing, them hating, I understand."

“But verified accounts, ex-cricketers, commentators, when they are posting about this on social media when they are taking out time to tweet about me, you can just text me. I would honestly just love that, because if anyone can just DM me and say ‘Hey, I know this is how you play cricket, but if you do this, you might have a better chance of performing,’"highlighted Parag.

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Parag went on to add that he was disappointed sitting out during RR's games versus Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2023. "There were two games I was really looking forward to this year, one was Mumbai, and one was RCB, and I didn’t play both," he revealed.

Parag added, "Everything was sorted, I was fully ready, I was preparing very hard before the game. I was very very disappointed not to go to Bangalore, cause that’s a team I love playing against. I look up to Virat so much and sharing the field with him is obviously very big for me. Beating them is a joy for me. But then you have to go back to the hotel, look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I’ve been left out."

In the video, R Ashwin was seen praising Parag.The Indian spinnersaid the youngster is one who is 'exceptionally skilled and is only a matter of time before he turns a corner.' With criticism from all corners for his poor form, Parag will be determined to prove Ashwin right,perform in the domestic circuit as well as make a mark in next year's IPL.