In his fledgling cricketing career, Riyan Parag has managed to rile up both fans and cricket pundits with his on-field antics. During the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League, Parag found himself at the receiving end of ire from netizens on numerous occasions.
Simon Doull criticised Parag for his social media activity, while Matthew Hayden expressed his displeasure over his celebration after taking a difficult chance. Some even lashed out at the youngster for failing to grab the opportunities.
Read More: Riyan Parag Shows His Emotions, Posts Pictures and Has Fun. But Does That Warrant Hate?
Parag, however, silenced his critics after hitting a brilliant half-century against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored a quickfire 56 and took four catches to inspire Rajasthan Royals to a 29-run win. However, his altercation with Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj overshadowed his match-winning performance.
Parag, after bringing 18 runs off the last over, signaled Patel to shoo away, an imitation of what the latter a year ago. Patel didn’t respond to this but his teammate, Mohammed Siraj, joined the scene and asked Parag to behave himself.
“Last year, Harshal Patel had dismissed me when we were playing against RCB. I was walking back. Then, he made a hand gesture telling me to go away. I didn’t see that on the spot. I saw that when I went back to the hotel and saw the replay. It stuck in my mind since,” Parag recalled during a gaming stream on Rooter.
“When the innings ended, Siraj called and said, “Hey, come here, come here’. He said, ‘you’re a kid, behave like a kid’. I told him, ‘Bhaiya, I’m not saying anything to you’.
Later on, Harshal refused to shake hands with Parag. “By then, players from both the teams came and it ended there. Later, Harshal didn’t shake my hand. which I thought was a little immature,” he said.
Both sides had a face-off in the eliminator, which Rajasthan Royals won by a comfortable margin, but eventually lost to Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 final.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/ @Riyan Parag
