IPL nuggets: Ravi Shastri blasts Riyan Parag for slow batting

Ravi Shastri is known to call a spade a spade.

The most recent object of his ire was Riyan Parag of Rajasthan Royals.

On Wednesday, April 19, Parag scored only four runs off his first eight balls when the required run rate for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) was past 10 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Shastri didn’t mince words in saying that Parag’s slow start changed the course of the match.

The veteran also reckoned that due to Parag’s knock, Devdutt Padikkal also lost his touch.

“They lost Samson, they lost Buttler and Jaiswal but still they had enough, a lot of depth. I think that period of play when Riyan Parag came in and the way he played his first eight balls changed the course of the match.”

“Padikkal, at the other end, lost his rhythm as well.”

“Runs started coming in singles and there was a period of 28 balls that stage without a boundary.”

“When you go through that much time without a boundary, you are asking for trouble.” Shastri said.

Parag was also criticized by former England batter Kevin Pietersen during commentary.

After starting slowly, Parag did hit a four and a six to stay unbeaten on 15 off 12, but it wasn’t enough for the Royals to go past the finish line.

After being to chase down 155, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal laid the platform with a partnership of 87 runs for the opening wicket.

But after Marcus Stoinis dismissed both of them, the Royals lost their way badly.

“They knew what they were chasing. Luckily, they are on top of the table and they will learn a lot from this defeat.”

“They will learn about the changes in their batting unit. Parag was given the responsibility, they watched how he played.”

“They had such a strong batting lineup. They could have gone for the kill much earlier,” he added.

Despite the defeat, the Royals stayed on top of the table with eight points and a net run rate of +1.043 courtesy of victories in four out of six matches.