BCCI has announced Team India for the T20 and ODI series against Sri Lanka. Riyan Parag made his international cricket debut against Zimbabwe this month. Parag's debut series was not very special, so there was little hope of him getting a chance in the series against Sri Lanka. Let's see the 3 reasons why Riyan Parag is getting a chance to go on the Sri Lanka tour.
Great IPL season
Riyan Parag has played 5 seasons for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. His bat has rained a lot of runs in the sixth season. In IPL 2024, Parag scored 573 runs in 14 innings at an average of 52. He was also the uncapped run-getter of the season. Parag has the ability to bat strongly in the middle order and perhaps that is why he has been successful in impressing the selectors.
Additional bowling option
Apart from bowling in the middle order, Riyan Parag also bowls leg spin. It is worth noting that many big players including Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya have not been given a place in the ODI series. Parag has so far taken 50 wickets in his List-A career and 41 wickets in his T20 career.
2 consecutive good seasons in domestic cricket
Riyan Parag made headlines by scoring a lot of runs in IPL 2024. Apart from this, he has been performing well for Assam in domestic cricket for the last 2 seasons. He made a lot of buzz by scoring 552 runs in the 2022-2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy. At the same time, he scored 510 runs in 10 matches of the 2023-2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He maintained this excellent form in the Ranji Trophy as well. He scored 378 runs in 4 matches in the last Ranji season.