With Rajasthan Royals (RR) securing the fourth and final playoff place in IPL 2026, captain Riyan Parag revealed that he was \u201cdefinitely not fit\u201d for the season\u2019s last league outing against Mumbai Indians (MI) and insisted he was not meant to feature in another game. Despite his return, RR delivered a decisive victory\u2014beating MI by 30 runs at the Wankhede\u2014and booked their spot after a tense run-in to the tournament.<\/p>\n
Parag returned to lead RR as the stakes for the final day remained straightforward: if his side won their last match, they would advance to the playoffs; if they lost, their campaign would end. He had missed RR\u2019s previous fixture against Lucknow Super Giants due to a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
At the Wankhede on Sunday, Parag contributed 14 runs from eight balls. Even as RR defended a total of 205, he was seen moving around the ground cautiously.<\/p>\n
Speaking after RR\u2019s win over MI, Parag said, \u201cYeah, I\u2019m definitely not fit\u2026 I was not supposed to play today, I\u2019m not supposed to play another game [in this season].\u201d When asked whether he would take part in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 27, he responded, \u201cYeah, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
RR had lost three matches in a row, but victories in their final two games pushed them into the playoff picture on the last day of the league phase. Parag admitted the timing of their surge wasn\u2019t ideal, saying he was not too emotional about finally qualifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should have qualified way earlier,\u201d he said. \u201cWe left it a little too late, I think we left a lot on the table. And I feel we\u2019re picking up the slack after losing three games in a row. Hopefully we learn from all our mistakes and we put up a better show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chasing 206, MI managed a late push led by Suryakumar Yadav, who struck 60 off 42, and Hardik Pandya, who made 34 off 15. Still, RR held their nerve to close out a 30-run win.<\/p>\n
Parag pointed to several bold captaincy decisions that swung the match in RR\u2019s favour. Among the moves was promoting Jofra Archer to bat at number 7, and then bringing him back for his final over in the 16th over to target Pandya.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve taken a lot of brave calls, actually, this season,\u201d Parag said. \u201cBut that\u2019s how I like to lead, that\u2019s how I lead Assam as well. Of course, different level, different things as well, but I feel you\u2019ve got to take your chances. It\u2019s not a gamble, but of course you think about it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the match, Parag highlighted the impact of RR\u2019s bowlers as MI\u2019s chase was disrupted early and never fully recovered. He singled out 19-year-old Yash Raj Punja, who finished with figures of 2 for 44, along with Brijesh Sharma, who took 2 for 26.<\/p>\n
Parag concluded with hopes for the youngsters to keep the momentum going, saying he wants them to repeat the performance \u201cfor another one game, and then, another two games.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With Rajasthan Royals (RR) securing the fourth and final playoff place in IPL 2026, captain Riyan Parag revealed that he was \u201cdefinitely not fit\u201d for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Riyan Parag Fitness Update as RR Qualify for IPL 2026 Eliminator","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Rajasthan Royals make the IPL 2026 Eliminator as Riyan Parag admits he wasn\u2019t fit for the MI game\u2014yet RR clinch a crucial 30-run win.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n