Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) decision to appoint Riyan Parag as the captain of the side after Sanju Samson moved to the Chennai Super Kings ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
The Royals have done well as a team in the ongoing season. However, Parag has blown hot and cold with the bat since he started playing for the franchise in 2019. In IPL 2026, the right-handed batter has scored 207 runs in 10 innings at an average of 23. This includes the 50-ball 90 he scored in the Royals’ last game against the Delhi Capitals in a losing cause.
Parag also landed up in controversy last week after he was caught vaping in the dressing room during Rajasthan’s match against Punjab Kings. The incident led to the Assam batter being fined 25 per cent of his match fees.
Speaking on Sportstar’s Insight Edge podcast, Manjrekar opined Parag’s personality and self-belief have always stood out, but admitted he has not been able to fathom the high level of trust Rajasthan have placed in him over the years.
“He is not one of your typical Indian players. He’s fit and just the way he walks around and everything struts around. But I would say, after the kind of performances I’ve seen over the years. It is something that I find a little strange that the Rajasthan Royals have backed him so much,” Manjrekar said.
Manjrekar went on to say that Parag being appointed as skipper of the Royals was a move that didn’t ‘make any sense at all’.
“I mean, Sanju Samson captained them for a few years, and then he was removed, and Riyan Parag took over. I don’t know what happened there. But I don’t think from a cricketing point of view, it makes any sense at all. It’s a bit harsh to say this, but he’s just got too much as a reward. Having not really worked hard for those rewards. So it’s a very interesting case pertaining to the Rajasthan Royals,” he added.
Manjrekar, however, lauded Parag’s self-confidence, even when he is not performing well. The cricketer-turned-commentator also mentioned that Parag looks really good when he plays his shots but he fails to convert his starts more often than not.
“What catches the eye about Riyan Parag is his unbelievable self-confidence. Even when he was not delivering, if you saw him in the field, the kind of stuff that he did. It was just almost arrogance for somebody who was struggling to fit in or deliver. So when I see his overall career as well, you would seem he would have played numerous innings of 14 or 15 runs, where he would come in and hit a couple of cracking shots, and you would be blown away. And then the next body’s playing the same shot and getting out. That is his MO,” he added.
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Manjrekar opined that Parag doesn’t focus while hitting all his aggressive shots and that is what leads to his undoing on some occasions.
“That is how Riyan Parag generally plays: sensational shots, but I think somewhere the overconfidence, or whatever, just gets him to keep trying to play those shots. And because he mishits so many and gets out, he’s obviously not focusing on every attacking shot he plays. So he’s an interesting character. That is the captain, after all; that is something that I’ve never understood with the Rajasthan Royals,” he added.
