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'Tried To Set Me Up': Riyan Parag Clarifies Controversy Over Explicit Search History

Akshita Patel

Riyan Parag breaks silence on YouTube search history controversy [Source: @CHADitya_18, @chinmayshah28/X.com]Riyan Parag breaks silence on YouTube search history controversy [Source: @CHADitya_18, @chinmayshah28/X.com]

Rising Indian cricketer Riyan Parag broke the silence on the controversy around his explicit YouTube search history. In an interview with City 1016 radio, the batter claimed that somebody from Discord server tried to set him up and it was blown out of proportion after his successful IPL season.

Riyan Parag had a good season in IPL 2024 with 573 runs in 16 games and an average of 52.09. But the Rajasthan Royals batter was soon to be involved in a controversy right after the end of the season.

For those unversed, Parag is an avid PC gamer who often livestreams his matches on YouTube.  In one such livestream, he opened up his YouTube search history which had mentioned Bollywood actresses Ananya Pandey and Sara Ali Khan in an explicit way. 

Riyan Parag reveals the true story behind the YouTube history controversy

Fans quickly took objection to it and slammed Riyal Parag. After months of silence, Parag shared his side of the story in an interview with City1016 Radio. He explained that the incident happened before the IPL but resurfaced post-tournament when he resumed his gaming live streams.

"It got publicized now, but it happened before the IPL. One of the people in my discord team tried to set me up before the IPL, but that got taken down very quickly, but then after the IPL, the hype was there and I had a good season," Parag said.

He claimed that somebody tried to set him up as he had no idea of the alleged searches. Besides, the batter said that the matter was blown out of proportion and he didn't feel a need to issue a justification.

"I came and opened my stream, I didn't have Spotify or Apple Music. Everything was deleted. So I went on YouTube to put on music. But I didn't know what was happening, but once I did the stream ended, I was like Oh s**t this happened. It just got blown out of proportion. I didn't think it was good enough a reason for me to go out publicly and clarify everything and no one would understand," he added. 

Despite the controversy, Parag had a stellar IPL season, finishing as Rajasthan Royals' top run-scorer and earning his debut in India's white-ball formats. 

Parag retained by Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2025

Rajasthan Royals announced their retained players list last year at the retention deadline and rewarded Riyan Parag for his recent performance. Having had a breakout IPL season in 2024, Parag has since grown in stature, making his white-ball international debut for India. He was retained for INR 14 crore, a massive jump in his market value.