Riyan Parag breaks silence after being picked in India T20 squad for Zimbabwe 2024

Assam’s talented young all-rounder Riyan Parag has finally been rewarded for a fantastic domestic season and IPL 2024, as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) star earned his well-deserved maiden call-up to India.

BCCI’s Selection Committee has announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. The Indian cricket team is all set to travel to Zimbabwe in the first week of July to play a five-match T20I series against the hosts.

The T20I series will get underway on July 6 at the Harare Sports Club in Harare; the venue will also host the remaining four matches of the series on July 7, 10, 13, and 14. Interestingly, the entire Indian squad currently participating in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 has been given a rest for the Zimbabwe tour.

Riyan Parag's dream comes true with maiden India selection for Zimbabwe tour

However, Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan, and Khaleel Ahmed, who are part of the traveling reserves for the T20 World Cup 2024, have been named in the squad. Well, Shubman Gill will lead Team India for the first time on the Zimbabwe tour, and the national selection committee added several fresh faces to the T20I squad.

Notably, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Reddy, Tushar Deshpande, and Parag have earned their maiden national call-ups. It was the dream come true moment for all the possible debutants, and Parag was the highlight of the squad announcement as India’s latest batting sensation expressed his emotions about earning the India jersey.

Meanwhile, Riyan Parag is currently working on his game at the Rajasthan Royals (RR) High-Performance Centre, and in a heartwarming moment, his selection was celebrated by his IPL franchise. After his much-awaited selection to the Indian cricket team, Parag shared a post on social media with the caption 'Dare to Dream'.

Here's Riyan Parag's X post:

🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Sx3iTP11wt

— Riyan Paragg (@ParagRiyan) June 24, 2024

The young batting sensation also shared his reactions to his maiden call-up in a video posted by the RR on their social media handles. Parag was also seen posing with an India jersey in the short clip shared by the Royals on X.

Parag expressed his deep emotion, describing his journey and India selection as "emotional, humbling, and overwhelming." He also reflected on his only goal of playing cricket for the Indian team while expressing gratitude for the opportunity.

Riyan Parag said in the video: “It's emotional, it’s humbling, and it's overwhelming. I think I started playing cricket having just one goal, which was to play for the Indian team. Thank you.”

Watch here how Riyan Parag reacts to his India selection:

Just met up with Riyan who's currently training at the Royals High Performance Centre! 🇮🇳💗 pic.twitter.com/dqVfmbM3bJ

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) June 24, 2024

Notably, Gill was also in the USA for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 as a traveling reserve. The Men in Blue have qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2024 after crushing Australia in their last Super-8 match in St. Lucia, and they will face England on June 27.

Here’s the India squad for the Zimbabwe tour:

Ꮪhubman Gill (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.