Rajasthan Royals tasted their first loss of the IPL 2026 season after Sunrisers Hyderabad outplayed them with a pair of pace-bowling newcomers. While RR’s batting let them down in terms of application and control, the post-match talking point quickly shifted to their captain Riyan Parag—specifically, his choice to hold back Ravindra Jadeja with the ball. When Parag was pressed on the decision after the game, he offered an explanation that did little to settle concerns among supporters and observers.
Parag explains the Jadeja call
- In his inaugural full season as Rajasthan’s regular captain, Parag showed hesitation about using Jadeja, a left-arm finger spinner, during the match.
- He felt the moment was not right to introduce Jadeja, especially with Ishan Kishan timing the ball exceptionally well for the opposition.
- Parag insisted that the decision against bowling Jadeja was made almost instantly—describing it as a split-second call rather than a pre-planned strategy.
- According to Parag, since Ishan was batting with confidence, he did not want to take a risk that could disrupt RR’s plans, and instead opted for other bowlers.
- When asked about the thinking, Parag summed it up by saying Jadeja-bowling was simply not the path he chose at that moment, and that RR went with alternative options.
Parag on RR’s batting and the match context
During the presentation, Parag also addressed the way Rajasthan’s innings slipped. He said there was limited time to dwell on emotions and urged credit towards SRH’s bowling, pointing to a few misjudgments from RR. He noted that the surface looked favourable overall, and felt that chasing might have offered a slight advantage. Parag added that the pitch started well for bowlers with the new ball, then became slower after the shine faded—though he acknowledged that hindsight cannot change what happened, and that Rajasthan could have batted better.
He also reflected on how the innings progressed despite early damage, remarking that reaching a total of 160 after being down five wickets for nine demonstrated the squad’s depth. Parag described the outcome as a brief setback, saying Rajasthan would move forward to their next assignment in Kolkata with improvements in the right areas.
Credit to SRH’s debutant pacers
Parag reserved special praise for SRH’s uncapped pace options. He said he had not seen them frequently in domestic cricket, but recalled playing Sakib—mentioned by Parag in the context of domestic exposure—when Sakib represented Assam against Bihar. Parag said the pair bowled beautifully under pressure, highlighting the atmosphere created by the home crowd chanting their names and describing their spell as excellent.
