“It is all about image”: Ex-captain launches scathing attack on Riyan Parag after SRH vs RR match

Former India batter Kris Srikkanth has openly questioned Riyan Parag’s leadership after Rajasthan Royals suffered their first defeat of the IPL season. The Royals, who had started strongly with four consecutive wins, were beaten by Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad.

Following the 57-run loss, Srikkanth expressed doubts over Parag’s captaincy and also raised concerns about his ability to deliver regularly in the tournament.

“He’s just for style. As always, he comes out to bat, gets dismissed quickly, comes to the presentation ceremony, and leaves. For him, it’s all about the image. He hasn’t contributed anything,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube show.

He was especially unhappy with some of the tactical decisions during the match, including the way the bowling unit was handled.

One choice that drew strong criticism was the decision not to use Ravindra Jadeja with the ball at all. Srikkanth found it difficult to understand why the side’s most experienced bowling option was kept out of the attack for the entire innings.

“When you ask him why Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t given a bowl, he says they were targeting Ravi Bishnoi and there was a left-hander at the crease. Is there some rule that a left-arm spinner can’t bowl to a left-hander? It doesn’t make any sense,” Srikkanth added.

SunRisers Hyderabad did not begin perfectly, losing Abhishek Sharma without scoring, but they quickly recovered. Ishan Kishan led the charge with a superb 91 off 44 deliveries, while Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy chipped in with important runs to lift the team to a challenging total of 216.

Rajasthan’s reply never really took off. Their batting, which looked dangerous in the first four matches, failed in front of the two debutants Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain. Praful, a medium pacer from Nagpur, made an immediate impact by dismissing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the opening over and later removed Dhrul Jurel and Parag for a duck, leaving Rajasthan in deep trouble at 9 for 5. Sakib dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Jadeja and Donnovan Ferreira tried to steady the innings, but the damage was already done. Ferreira fought back with 69 from 44 balls, but Sakib ended his resistance with a well-disguised slower ball during an impressive spell.