Rajasthan Royals batting coach Vikram Rathour is not overly troubled by Riyan Parag\u2019s lean start to the IPL, even though the Assam batter has produced modest returns across his first eight matches. In a season where the spotlight naturally turns to form and output, Rathour framed Parag\u2019s current numbers as a temporary phase, insisting the right-hander is working properly and will find his rhythm as the tournament unfolds. Parag, who has been a debated captaincy option for the Royals in the presence of regular India stalwarts Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel, has managed just 88 runs in eight games at a strike rate of 112.82, with his highest score sitting at 20.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters, Rathour made his assessment clear: \u201cThere is nothing going wrong with him. He is batting well in the nets. He is working hard.\u201d Rathour, a former India batting coach, pointed to the effort and preparation rather than the scoreboard, suggesting that a batsman can look capable even when runs have not yet arrived in bulk. In the same breath, he underlined that Parag\u2019s quiet spell has not been the defining story of the Royals\u2019 batting, with other batters doing the bulk of the work so far.<\/p>\n
So far, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has stood out with 357 runs at a strike rate of 234-plus, while Yashasvi Jaiswal has also carried significant weight with 255 runs at 153. Dhruv Jurel, too, has contributed 232 runs with a strike rate in the 130-plus range. Together, the trio have shouldered much of RR\u2019s batting load in the campaign to date, leaving Parag\u2019s slow accumulation to be viewed more as an adjustment period than a crisis.<\/p>\n
Rathour also noted how Parag\u2019s output has fallen behind even other players in the team who are not currently leading the runs race. At the moment, Parag\u2019s figures are even beneath Ravindra Jadeja\u2019s 132 and Donovan Ferreira\u2019s 130, a comparison that underlines just how tough his early phase has been. Yet, Rathour believes the underlying process remains intact, and that the results will eventually catch up.<\/p>\n
That belief was echoed by what happened in the game on Saturday, when Parag was undone by a yorker from Sunrisers Hyderabad\u2019s comeback man Pat Cummins. The delivery came in fast and landed at the base of the stumps, and Parag\u2014according to Rathour\u2019s reading of the situation\u2014could not get the bat down in time to execute his shot cleanly. For Rathour, it illustrated the kind of moment that can swing a batter\u2019s confidence, particularly when runs are already hard to come by.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that is how this game goes sometimes. You get into a lean phase or a phase where you are not scoring as many runs as you would like to. But that is part of the game, I think. He will come back and he will come back strong. I am pretty sure of that,\u201d Rathour said. He added further context on how the Royals are approaching Parag\u2019s situation internally, describing ongoing attention to his technique and work habits rather than reacting purely to match-by-match output.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are having a one-on-one conversation. We had noted Parag\u2019s batting form. We have been talking about it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rajasthan Royals batting coach Vikram Rathour is not overly troubled by Riyan Parag\u2019s lean start to the IPL, even though the Assam batter has produced…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: Vikram Rathour Backs Riyan Parag Form","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"IPL 2026: Batting coach Vikram Rathour remains confident Riyan Parag will turn his lean start around, backing the Assam batter to find form soon.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n