Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the decision of Rajasthan Royals to hand over the captaincy of the team to Riyan Parag. Manjrekar said that RR management unfairly rewarded Parag despite not working hard.
Parag’s form with the bat in IPL 2026 has not been anything special. But, under his captaincy, Rajasthan Royals are relatively fourth in the points table with six wins in 10 matches. They will take on Gujarat Titans in Jaipur on May 9.
Riyan Parag’s RR career
Parag joined Rajasthan Royals in 2019 at the age of 17. Since then, he has remained in the team almost permanently, but has not always been consistent. He has scored 1773 runs in 94 matches at an average of 25.69 and strike rate of 142. He has also scored only 8 fifties with a highest score of 90.
Parag’s best season was undoubtedly in 2024 when RR finished third in the league. That season, he scored 573 runs at an average of 52 and a strike rate of 149. Due to that excellent form, he also got the India Cap in the same year.
Parag has not been able to score even 400 runs in any season before or after this. In 2025, Parag became the captain for some matches when Sanju Samson was injured. Samson moved to CSK in 2026 and Parag was given a full-time role.
In IPL 2026, Parag has scored just 207 runs in 10 matches at an average of 20 and a strike rate of around 144. He made his highest score of the season, 90, in his last match. This innings is his only half-century this year.
“I don’t think it makes any sense from a cricketing point of view” – Sanjay Manjrekar on Riyan Parag’s appointment as captain
Manjrekar was talking about Riyan Parag and his becoming the RR captain on Sportstar’s ‘Insight Edge’ podcast.
Manjrekar said, “He is not one of your typical Indian players. He is fit and the way he moves and everything is swaggering. But I will say, after the kind of performances I have seen over the last few years, it is somewhat strange that Rajasthan Royals have supported him so much.”
“I mean, Sanju Samson captained them for a couple of years, and then he was dropped, and Riyan Parag took over the captaincy. I don’t know what happened there. But I don’t think from a cricketing point of view, it makes sense. It’s a bit harsh to say, but he’s got a lot in the way of rewards. He hasn’t really worked hard for those rewards. So it’s a very interesting case concerning Rajasthan Royals,” he said.
His confidence is unbelievable- Sanjay Manjrekar
Manjrekar talked about what it was in particular that set Riyan Parag apart from other Indian cricketers not just of his age, but of all ages in general.
Manjrekar said, “What catches the eye about Riyan Parag is his incredible confidence. Even when he was not performing, if you saw him in the field, the kind of work he did. It was almost arrogance for someone who was struggling, you know, to fit in or perform. So he strikes me as someone who has this confidence, and it feels genuine. It doesn’t feel like a pretense.”
“So when I look at his overall career as well, you would think he would have had a lot of innings of 14 or 15 runs, where he would come in and hit some big shots, and you would be surprised.”
“And then the next body is playing the same shots and getting out. That’s his MO. That’s how Riyan Parag generally plays: sensational shots, but I think somewhere overconfidence, or whatever, motivates him to keep trying to play those shots.”
And because he makes mistakes and gets out so many times, he clearly is not concentrating on every offensive shot he plays. So he’s an interesting character. He is the captain after all; This is something I could never understand with Rajasthan Royals.
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