Riyan Parag has scored only 272 runs in IPL 2026 at a strike rate of 152.80 and average of 24.72, but his confidence in his maiden season as full-time captain has impressed the Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara. After RR beat Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday to qualify for the playoffs, Sangakkara backed Parag as "the right guy to lead the franchise".
"I think I've seen very few players who have been criticised like Riyan has for about seven years now," Sangakkara said in Mumbai. "Ever since I came to the franchise, there are always people who like Riyan, but there are a lot of people who didn't really like him, especially on social media. But that's the reality of the modern game.
"When we decided to offer Riyan the captaincy, he is the absolute right guy to lead this franchise. I have no doubt in my mind. And having watched him, yes, he will grow. He will mature. He will understand himself a lot more. He will learn to understand his players a lot more."
Parag has scored only two fifties this season after succeeding Sanju Samson as RR captain. He attributed his lack of runs to a "tough phase" he was going through personally. He was also penalised after being caught vaping during the game against Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh.
After missing RR's previous game because of a hamstring injury, Parag returned on Sunday even though he "was not supposed to play" and made an eight-ball 14 in RR's total of 205 for 8. They eventually beat MI by 30 runsto make the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
"If you look at the calls he makes as captain, the confidence with which he drives himself, almost on one foot sometimes to come and play, there's a huge amount of positivity," Sangakkara said of Parag's leadership in IPL 2026. "I think he's captained exceptionally well. And when he's in that dressing room, he's got the respect of all the players and the staff. That's all you can ask for.
"What happens in the next few years, I think it's a really interesting relationship we have to build with the franchise and Riyan, and really help him develop as a captain, as a batter, as a person, and keep supporting him. He's a very, very good young man. Sometimes what you see on the outside is not Riyan Parag. He is a lovely, soft, gentle, really determined, smart young man. And he's learned a lot in the last few years. And he'll continue on that journey. I'm very, very proud of him."
Why did RR send Archer to bat in the 13th over?
Against Delhi Capitals a couple of games ago, RR had lost their sixth wicket with only 19 balls left in the innings. They subbed in batting-allrounder Dasun Shanaka as Impact Player though Jofra Archer hadn't batted yet, leaving themselves without a fifth front-line bowling option. They had to use Shanaka and Donovan Ferreira to fill that quota.
On Sunday against MI, RR lost their fifth wicket with 43 balls left in the innings. But they sent Archer in at No. 7, though they had another batter Shubham Dubey to come. After Dubey fell in the 18th over, RR subbed him out for Ravindra Jadeja, while Archer made a 15-ball 32, his highest score in the IPL.
"Today, if we had pushed another batter, we would have had to bowl four of Dasun Shanaka," Sangakkara said. "And that's a tough one on a wicket like this. So we would like to push as much as possible, extend our resources, see where we get to, and if we're only left with no choice. That's why we played Dasun in the first place as well. He batted exceptionally well today, and bowled well too.
"We are pretty well-versed in how we want to use [the impact sub]. It just depends whether you want to play five or six bowlers. And usually if you're fielding first, I think five bowlers are more than enough. And then if you bat well, you'll have a sixth. Sometimes when you have too many options also, it gets a little confusing. But I thought we had used that option really well this season."
Sangakkara also revealed they delayed the decision to bring Jadeja in as an impact player because of his injury.
"He's been nursing an injury," Sangakkara said. "And we've had to manage him quite sensitively. So for him to go out and bat for long periods of time, it puts a lot of pressure on him, a lot of stress on him. So until he gets maybe another two days of rest, then we can use him even better. The way he batted today was pretty exceptional."