Former India opener Virender Sehwag has urged Rajasthan Royals to take a hard look at Riyan Parag’s role as captain ahead of IPL 2026. Pressure has continued to build on Parag after yet another underwhelming batting display in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday. The RR skipper contributed just seven runs from nine balls, before Pat Cummins struck in the 17th over to dismiss him. With Rajasthan losing the game—marking their third defeat in four outings—Parag’s captaincy has once again come under scrutiny.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Sehwag questioned whether Parag has the right credentials to lead the franchise, urging the management to reflect on its decision before the season slips further. “Rajasthan Royals need to think about Riyan Parag’s captaincy. The management has to think whether he is the right captain for them. You could have interviewed all 25 people, but that doesn’t serve any purpose,” Sehwag said.
Sehwag also criticised Parag’s tactical choices during the loss to SRH, pointing specifically to what he saw as an underuse of the wicket-taking options Ravi Bishnoi and Ravindra Jadeja. According to Sehwag, both bowlers were only given a single over each, which he felt limited Rajasthan’s chances of breaking the opposition’s momentum. “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,” he added.
Turning to Parag’s batting struggles this season, Sehwag suggested the skipper must shoulder more responsibility instead of leaning heavily on teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Sehwag argued that when a captain is not scoring, it naturally affects how he approaches his own batting. “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? It does affect your batting as you keep thinking about yourself,” he said.
