Riyan Parag’s IPL 2026 troubles are showing no signs of easing. Once again, the Rajasthan Royals skipper struggled for runs and finished with a single-digit score against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday.
Parag was dismissed for seven, getting clean bowled by SRH captain Pat Cummins. The low output has drawn sharp criticism, with former India batter Virender Sehwag questioning whether Parag should be leading the franchise in the first place.
At a glance
- Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag scored seven runs vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Parag was clean bowled by SRH skipper Pat Cummins
- SRH chased 229 with five wickets in hand and nine balls to spare
- Rajasthan used eight different bowlers during the chase
- Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan hit half-centuries in the successful chase
- Sehwag criticised Parag’s captaincy and bowling choices, including limited overs for Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi
- Coach Kumar Sangakkara previously said five candidates were interviewed before appointing Parag
- Sehwag said Parag’s confidence could be affected by his batting returns
- In eight matches, Parag has 88 runs; highest score is 20 vs Lucknow Super Giants
- RR slipped to fourth in the points table and will play Punjab Kings on Tuesday, April 28
Sehwag’s concerns were not limited to Parag’s batting. He also took aim at the Royals’ on-field decisions, pointing out that Sunrisers hunted down a target of 229 comfortably, finishing with five wickets in hand and nine balls unused.
The former India opener argued that Parag’s captaincy choices during the innings left openings. In particular, Sehwag singled out the fact that Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi were each handed only a single over, despite both being established options for breakthroughs.
Bowling choices under the scanner
Rajasthan experimented with eight different bowlers during the chase, but the plan failed to slow SRH’s momentum. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan provided key contributions, each getting to a half-century as the visitors stayed on course to overhaul the 229 target.
Earlier, ahead of IPL 2026, the Royals had made their captaincy selection after internal evaluations. Coach Kumar Sangakkara had said the franchise held interviews for five players, including Parag, Sandeep Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, to identify the most suitable captaincy candidate. Ultimately, the all-rounder was chosen.
Sehwag revisited that decision in his criticism, saying the management needed to rethink Parag’s role as captain. He also suggested that even interviewing many candidates would be pointless if the results on-field were not matching expectations.
“Rajasthan Royals need to think about Riyan Parag’s captaincy. The management has to decide whether he is the right captain for them. You could have interviewed all 25 people, but that doesn’t serve any purpose,” Sehwag said.
He went on to add, “Both Jadeja and Bishnoi bowled just one over. You should have given them one more over. If you give them just one over, who will take wickets? If Bishnoi and Jadeja bowled, they would have gone after the wickets.”
Confidence and batting form
Beyond tactics, Sehwag also argued that Parag’s batting struggles could be affecting his mindset as captain. In eight matches so far, the 24-year-old has managed only 88 runs, with his best score reaching 20 against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Sehwag noted that Parag’s average sits at 12.57 in the 19th edition of the tournament so far, while his strike rate has remained under 113. He suggested that when a captain is not scoring, the role naturally shifts the focus inward and makes batting feel even more difficult.
“As a batter, if I’m the captain, and I am not scoring runs, my captaincy will be affected. I will keep thinking about my runs. I will keep thinking that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a hundred off 36 balls, and I am a senior, so why am I not scoring runs?” Sehwag said.
He added, “It does affect your batting as you keep thinking about yourself.”
In the match against SRH, Rajasthan posted 228 after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck a 103. Dhruv Jurel (51) was the only other batter to make a meaningful contribution, while the rest fell short of the mark.
With the defeat, the Royals slipped to fourth place in the points table. Their next assignment is against the Punjab Kings on Tuesday, April 28, in Mullanpur.
