Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Riyan Parag has slammed TV commentators and experts for making personal attacks on him during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), urging them to respect the players and stick to talking about cricket.
Following RR's victory over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Jaipur on Tuesday (May 19, 2026), Parag, who did not take the field for the game due to a hamstring issue, expressed his frustration with the heavy scrutiny around his off-field issues, including being caught vaping in the dressing room earlier this season.
"As far as IPL is concerned, there are a lot of things happening outside this year. I feel the whole country loves cricket a lot. We, as players, try to give our best whenever we can," Parag told reporters after RR beats LSG by seven wickets.
"We perform according to the expectations of the crowd. So, I feel, we should all love cricket and look at it in the same way. Players are working very hard. It is very easy to say, if a team gets all out for 75 or 80 runs, that they do not know how to play or have the mindset to play.” said Parag.
"But before that game, there is a 3-4 days' preparation [time period] to ensure how we can score 200-250. But sometimes it doesn't happen. We are humans too and we make mistakes too. So, I feel, as much as it is happening outside, especially the commentators, their voices are reaching out to the people, I would request them to love cricket. Talk about cricket." he added.
‘No matter what I do, there will be talks’
Parag, who has been made India A Vice-Captain for a triangular series in Sri Lanka, was among the impact substitutes for Rajasthan Royals for Tuesday (May 19, 2026)'s game, but did not take any part in the on-field proceedings.
The 24-year-old Parag said cricket is the best sport in the country and should be treated with respect. "The sport, which is the country's most important sport, and in which we are the best, I feel, [should be treated] with a little respect. We should only talk about cricket. We should not talk about anything else," he said.
Parag said he tries to not let outside noise affect his game. "I have understood one thing that you have been saying for the last four years, that no matter what I do, there will be talks," he said.
"I have also understood that whatever talks are happening, it shouldn't affect my game, my form or my mindset because keyboard warriors are outsiders."
Sooryavanshi's ‘best innings’
Parag said teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's scintillating 93 against LSG, which came off only 38 balls with 10 sixes and seven fours, was his "best innings".
"I think this was his best innings. When he was 5 off 10 or 11, there is always two ways to go about it. One is take it upon his ego and say why am I not able to hit this? Why am I not recovering from this situation and getting out of it and then he just blindly slogs it," Parag said.
"But it was really fun and curious to see Vaibhav, being 15. He took his time. He played that first big shot off Mayank [Yadav] over covers, which really gave me a sense of satisfaction and understanding that, okay, he is small but then he has a larger understanding of the game." LSG head coach Justin Langer also heaped praise on Sooryavanshi saying the way the 15-year-old bats is "breathtaking".
"In all my time I've seen some amazing players in 35 years of cricket. To see a young man bat like that, not just tonight but throughout the series, is breathtaking," he said.
"Do you know how I judge it? I think the last game, Mitchell Starc, who's one of the all-time great white-ball bowlers, he's bowling and he's almost... you look at the expression on his face… and [Anrich] Nortje, who's a world-class international bowler. And Sooryavanshi is hitting him and the expression on their face is such that, 'what is happening here'?" he added.