File photo of Riyan Parag.© X (Twitter)
After his breakthrough in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals batsman Riyan Parag has been called up to represent India in the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. Parag was the third highest run-scorer in IPL 2024 with 573 runs from 16 matches. Despite discussions over his selection for the T20 World Cup, Parag was not included in the winning Indian squad that beat South Africa in the final.
After being ignored by the selectors, Parag had insisted that he would not watch the World Cup and would only want to play once.
“Actually, I won’t watch it. I’ll only watch the final. I don’t want to watch cricket anymore because I want to play in the World Cup. I feel good. I want to play in the World Cup, I want to play for my country. When I see these guys it motivates me. But I feel like I could have done something else. When I see the Indian jersey and the cricket kit it makes me want to do something. I feel like I’m missing something and I just want to go out there and smash the ball,” Parag said in a chat on TRS podcast.
However, after he was selected in the squad for the Zimbabwe series, former India fast bowler S Sreesanth slammed the youngster for his comments.
“Some youngsters will say they won’t watch the World Cup as they were not selected. I would say they should be patriotic first and then become cricket lovers. But those who have selected the team should be supported with all their heart, mind and passion,” Sreesanth told Star Sports.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill will be leading the Indian cricket team in the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe in the absence of Rohit Sharma. The team will tour Zimbabwe immediately after the T20 World Cup 2024 and play five T20I matches between July 6 and 14.
India’s squad for the T20I series against Zimbabwe: Ꮪhubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.
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