'I wasn't wrong... he's a changed guy': Suryakumar's revelation as Riyan Parag produces power-hitting masterclass vs DC

Rajasthan Royals' star youngster Riyan Parag looks set for a redemption season in the 2024 Indian Premier League. The right-handed batter has made a bright start to the season and produced a brilliant knock on Thursday against the Delhi Capitals, smashing an unbeaten 84 off just 45 balls to not only rebuild the Royals' innings but take them to a strong score of 185/5 in 20 overs in Jaipur.

Parag arrived at the crease with RR in significant trouble, as the side had lost Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson in the powerplay. He also saw Jos Buttler being dismissed without making a key contribution as the Royals reeled at 36/3 in 7.2 overs. However, the youngster remained undeterred and forged important partnerships in the middle-order; he was helped by Ravichandran Ashwin, who produced a fine cameo of 29 off just 19 balls, following which Parag took over the role of aggressor in the innings.

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Throughout his 45-ball stay at the crease, Parag smashed six fours and seven sixes and smashed 25 runs off Anrich Nortje's final over of the innings to finish the RR innings in style.

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As the 22-year-old batter finally seems to be making his mark in the tournament, Mumbai Indians and India star Suryakumar Yadav made an important revelation about Parag. As the RR player produced his best IPL knock, Suryakumar lauded Parag on his official X, formerly Twitter, account.

“Met a guy at NCA few weeks ago. He came with a slight niggle. Completely focused on his recovery and with great discipline working on his skills. And I was not wrong to tell that to one of the coaches there ‘He is a changed guy’. RIYAN PARAG 2.0. Watch out,” wrote Suryakumar.

Parag joined RR on the back of an impressive domestic season; in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – the country's premier domestic T20 tournament – Parag finished as the highest run-getter with 510 runs to his name for Assam in just 10 innings. 

In the first match for the Royals in IPL 2024 last week, Parag forged an important partnership with Sanju Samson following the early wickets of Jaiswal and Buttler, as he scored 43 off 29 deliveries.