“He is one of our best batters” - Rahul Dravid backs Riyan Parag in IPL 2025

Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid has backed Riyan Parag as the franchise’s best batter, and the team management wants him to play as many balls as possible as he has the capability to change the game’s complexion.

Moreover, Dravid also spoke on Parag’s captaincy in his two games so far. Notably, Sanju Samson is part of the side for the team’s first three games as a pure batter. As a result, Parag has been appointed as stand-in captain for the first three games.

The former Indian head coach is of the opinion that it wasn’t easy to lead the side when the opposition was striking the ball perfectly well on a flat surface. Furthermore, he added that the first game would always challenge any player as a captain.

"Look, Riyan is one of our best batters, let's be honest. And we want to give him as many balls as we possibly can. Twenty overs is a very short time, and the more balls Riyan Parag bats for us, the better it is for us as a team," Rahul Dravid said to ESPNcricinfo.

"It's not easy to captain when the team is scoring 280 runs [Sunrisers Hyderabad] on a flat wicket. The first game is probably a tough game to be a captain. But I think the calmness that he showed and the fact that it didn't seem like our team was panicking was good," Dravid added.

The former Indian captain also asserted that he was happy to see Riyan Parag stepping into the new role in Sanju Samson’s absence as the captain. He went on to hail Parag’s decision to bowl when the surface was spinning.

“Even in the game against KKR, his brave decision to bring himself on [to bowl], realising that the wicket was turning… that was a brave decision and a correct decision. He’s been very impressive,” Dravid stated.

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