IPL 2024: ‘Watch the ball and hit the ball’ – Riyan Parag’s success mantra

Rajasthan Royals’ batter Riyan Parag made his IPL debut back in 2019 but didn’t savor success in the last five years. However, Parag has successfully turned the tide this season as he is currently the joint highest run-getter in IPL 2024 with 181 runs in three matches alongside his role model, Virat Kohli.

So what has changed or what has Parag done differently this season? He says that the success mantra is simple – ‘Watch the ball, hit the ball’. Parag has returned with impressive knocks of 43, 84* and 54* in the ongoing season.

RR was under some pressure against Mumbai Indians as they were 48-3 in the run-chase of 126 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday but Parag showed he had another gear in his batting. The youngster batted maturely in the early stages and went on to score an unbeaten 54 off just 39 balls to help his team get over the line. The right-hander scored five fours and three sixes in his match-winning knock.

“Nothing, to be honest,” Parag told the broadcasters when asked what differently he has done this season. “Actually I have simplified everything instead of trying to do a lot of things. Before when I was not getting runs, I would think about it too much, try and do different stuff altogether, and then it would not work out. This year the goal was to keep it simple – watch the ball and hit the ball.”

Parag revealed he wanted to replicate his domestic season’s learnings and once again delivered for the team.

“I have said it before, when I play domestic (cricket) this is the exact type of situation I go in to bat. When Jos [Buttler] bhai got out, and Ash [R Ashwin] bhai got out a little after, I was like, ‘okay, this is what I do. This is what I’ve been doing for the last six months playing domestic cricket’. So it was pretty simple to calculate everything,” he said.

Speaking about what led to this transformation in the IPL, Parag said: “I’ve had three-four years of not performing at all, or even performing if it’s one match a season. You really go back to the hotel room and think to yourself that when you know you can do something and it’s not coming, the performances are not coming, you get back to the drawing board.

“I tried finding what was wrong and I figured out that I was not practising at this level enough. So I went back after the (2023) season and practised very hard. And I think that’s showing now. I practised these types of balls, and these types of scenarios a lot. Hence the performances.”

Rajasthan Royals will next take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur on Saturday.