IND vs BAN: Riyan Parag gets a solid stick from Pakistan legend, warns him from completely ouster of India
Former Pakistan player Basit Ali has claimed that Riyan Parag is wasting important opportunities that could see him go down the route of Shreyas Iyer. Parag scored 37 off just 28 balls in the first innings of the second Duleep Trophy match at Anantapur.
Playing for India A against India D, Parag came in to bat at No. 4 and started aggressively. Despite the fall of two early wickets, Parag continued with his free-scoring style and counter-attacked the opposition bowling attack on a useful bowling surface.
He was looking good for a big score but was dismissed by Arshdeep Singh while slashing to a full-length ball outside off stump straight to the slip. It was another tame dismissal for Riyan Parag who failed to make another opportunity count.
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Basit Ali cautions Riyan Parag of wasting crucial opportunities
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali cautioned Riyan Parag of wasting crucial opportunities. He claimed that Parag is not justifying his talent and is just trying to be over-aggressive like Shreyas Iyer.
“He has a lot of talent, and he's such an effortless player. He hit that straight six today over mid-off, it was top-class. But he isn't justifying that talent. He has to play session by session. Just like (Shreyas) Iyer, he is also getting aggressive. I admit, you have to counter-attack, but once you succeed in that, you should focus on prolonging your innings,” Basit reckoned.
While Parag reached the thirties, Iyer had an even worse day as he was dismissed for a duck by left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed. India D were 86-4 in response to India A's 290 in the first innings.
"Don't focus on white-ball matches" - Basit Ali to Riyan Parag
Basit Ali further advised Riyan Parag to concentrate more on red-ball cricket since India is due to play Tests against New Zealand and Australia in the upcoming months. He felt that Parag was giving away his wicket too easily.
“These are the days where Riyan Parag needs to capitalize and score big. There's the New Zealand series, then the Australia series. Don't focus on white-ball matches. You've got the No. 4," the former Pakistan batter said.
"In the previous match, he played aggressively, too. Here, you had already scored 30-35 runs, you can't give your wicket like that. He has to take care of that. And the coaches need to talk to him, tell him this isn't the way,” he added.
In the first match of the Duleep Trophy 2024, Riyan Parag registered scores of 30 and 31 across two innings.
Thus, it was his third successive score in the thirties this season. He is a highly talented cricketer and will know that he needs to get big scores to stake a claim in India's Test squad.
Parag has played 1 ODI and 6 T20Is for India so far. However, he has yet to show his talent with the bat in international cricket.
The 22-year-old has scored just 57 runs in 6 T20Is at an average of just 14.25. However, he has shown glimpses of his potential and has been impressive with the ball.
