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'I'm Really Happy For Him..,': Suryakumar Yadav On Parag’s Inclusion In SL Tour

Suryakumar Yadav speaks on Riyan Parag [X.com]Suryakumar Yadav speaks on Riyan Parag [X.com]

Suryakumar Yadav, India's newly appointed T20I captain, has underscored the importance of Riyan Parag as an X-factor in the team ahead of their upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Parag's journey to the national team has been anything but smooth, facing heavy criticism due to repeated failures in the IPL.

The three-match series against Sri Lanka, commencing on July 27, will be Suryakumar's debut as captain, taking over from Rohit Sharma. Parag’s selection raised eyebrows as he was picked over Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma.

His inclusion, despite limited chances in recent series, highlights the selectors’ faith in his potential. During a pre-match press conference, Suryakumar defended Parag.


He just needs to sideline all the : Suryakumar

"Trolling happens everywhere, not just in cricket, it happens in every sport. How a sportsman deals with it is important. I rate him very highly. I had said this before the IPL as well, when I had met him at NCA when both of us had gone there for rehab, I had told him that there is an 'X-Factor' in him. He just needs to sideline all the distractions and focus on this (his cricket). He realised that in the IPL, he was quite a different player in the last 3-4 years," he said.

The newly appointed captain further added, expressing his happiness for Parag:

“I'm really happy for him. He has been performing well in domestic cricket as well for the last two years. Domestic cricket sets a good base, it's a good platform. It helps you understand how to score runs later in your career, in international cricket. It helps in that way. But I'm really happy that he's here with the team.” 

Parag's stellar IPL 2024 campaign saw him play a crucial role in the Rajasthan Royals' playoff qualification. During the tournament, he scored 573 runs in 14 matches, finishing as the third-highest run-scorer, trailing only Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

The Men in Blue will play a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series,  marking the start of Gautam Gambhir's tenure as head coach.