'Don't want a captain who's shouting...' - Riyan Parag takes a dig at Rohit Sharma as he hails Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals star Riyan Parag has earned his maiden India call-up for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. He is among a few uncapped players who have been named in the Indian squad.

Parag had his best IPL season in 2024 where he scored 573 runs in 16 games at an average of 52.09 with four fifty-plus scores. He eventually ended up as the third-highest run-getter.

The Assam cricketer, who showed glimpses of his capability in the IPL since his debut in 2019 in patches, made the 2024 season count. He was a part of India's U-19 World Cup win in 2018 and remains IPL's youngest half-centurion.

In an exclusive interview with ESPNCricinfo, he opened up on many facets of his game and his relationship with coach Kumar Sangakkara and captain Sanju Samson. Interestingly, Samson was a part of India's T20 World Cup winning squad but did not get to play any matches.

Also Read: Virat Kohli's T20I retirement a wrong decision? Zaheer Khan and Michael Vaughan share views

The youngster toned down his attitude on the field and made the most of his chances in IPL 2024. He spoke about the support he has got from Sanju Samson the skipper. He also spoke about his closeness with him and the communication he has had with him over the years.

"We are really close. This year we got even closer because he asked me to be part of the leadership circle during the games. I looked out for him, I had to speak to bowlers, talk about fields and communicate with him. So I got a lot of [time in] charge this season, which made me feel really nice because the captain had faith in me to talk to the bowlers, change fields if required, bowl certain bowlers in high-pressure situations," said Parag on Samson.

One Of The Best Batters Currently: Riyan Parag On Sanju Samson

He further lauded Samson as one of the best batters of the modern generation. The RR skipper has been a consistent run-scorer in the IPL. However, he has not transformed that consistency into runs at the international level. Samson also scored good runs ending with 531 runs in IPL 2024. This is the first time that he scored over 500 runs in an IPL season.

"Sanju bhaiyya is one of the best batters currently. I also believe his wicketkeeping goes unnoticed. On the field you can learn a lot from him - the way he handles himself even when he's angry, the way he handles himself after we've lost the game, all that is really commendable. That's how we get confidence from the captain, because you don't want a captain who's just shouting and showing his emotions. He keeps his emotions to himself, speaks to everyone normally after we've won or lost a game. I think those are the things that make him a really great captain" Parag further added.

Meanwhile, there have been some changes made to the Indian squad for the first two games against Zimbabwe. Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana will be traveling to Zimbabwe for the first two games as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Jaiswal, Dube, and Samson were part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad. The trio will travel to India first with the squad and then go to Zimbabwe for the final three games of the series. India's departure from Barbados was delayed due to a Hurricane.

Also Read: 'India would've lost if...' - Ahmed Shehzad's colossal take on Rohit Sharma's leadership in T20 World Cup final