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Rajasthan Royals captain Ryan Parag has once again come into controversy after refusing to be photographed with the team’s young batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
The incident took place at the airport when the Rajasthan team was leaving for the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mullanpur.
Under Parag’s leadership, RR finished fourth on the points table in IPL 2026 and will face third-placed SRH in the eliminator on Wednesday.
“I’m not a movie star” – Riyan Parag
When the team was leaving the airport, Parag was caught by the paparazzi walking towards the departure with Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Photojournalists sought sound bites from Parag and asked him to get photographed with Suryavanshi, but he refused. “We are not movie stars,” he said and walked away.
The video of the incident has now gone viral on social media.
Paparazzi: “Sir, can we get a photo of you and Vaibhav together?”
Riyan Parag: “Hey, we’re not film stars.”
Meanwhile, Vaibhav Suryavanshi was looking at Ryan like this, ‘You may not be a star, but I definitely am.’ pic.twitter.com/n3yPdBR3zv
– Amit Kumar Sindhi (@AMIT_GUJJU) 25 may 2026
Riyan Parag’s past controversies
This is not the first time in IPL 2026 that RR captain Riyan Parag has found himself at the center of controversy.
Last month, TV cameras caught him lighting up an e-cigarette and vaping in the dressing room during his team’s win over Punjab Kings. Riyan Parag was criticized for this move, especially since vaping is illegal in India.
Parag ultimately walked away with a fine of 25% of his match fee. BCCI said in its statement that Parag’s actions have brought bad name to the game.
In the past too, Parag has been criticized for his arrogant bravado. His statements in various interviews and podcasts have drawn public anger.
Riyan Parag in IPL 2026
Despite being the captain in IPL 2026, Parag has been very inconsistent with the bat. He has been named as the pivot of the middle order, but has not necessarily lived up to expectations
Due to injury, he played only 12 of his team’s 14 matches and could score only 272 runs.
This season his batting average is 24.72 and strike rate is 153. He has scored only two fifties – a stark contrast to his last two seasons.
At times, he has also bowled, but his performance with the ball has not been that good. Parag has bowled only 4 overs in 12 matches and taken 2 wickets.
His bowling average is just 19 runs per wicket and the bowling economy rate is 9.5 runs per over.
RR’s next match
Parag’s team will travel to the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur to play the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
RR finished fourth in the IPL 2026 points table and will play SRH, who finished third. The team that loses the Eliminator will have to bid goodbye to its IPL 2026 trophy hopes, while the winner will move on to Qualifier 2.
In Qualifier 2, they will face the losing team of the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.
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