A new-look Rajasthan Royals haven’t had the best of starts in the Indian Premier League 2025 season, with the team led by Riyan Parag slumping to two back-to-back losses against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders to start their campaign on a sombre note. In the absence of regular captain Sanju Samson, Parag has been given the role of captain for the first three matches while Samson recovers from his injury.
The 23-year-old has also promoted himself to No 3 after batting at No 4 in 2024. Parag, who played the role of finisher for RR before 2024 stepped up to bat one down in a line-up dominated by Indian core. However, with scores of 4 and 25, he has yet to maximise his potential at this new position, RR head coach Rahul Dravid believes that promoting ‘one of their best batters’ up the order was the right decision.
“That’s the right word to use, that he’s promoted. Riyan is one of our best batters, let’s be honest. And we want to give him as many balls as we possibly can. Twenty overs is a very short time and the more balls Riyan Parag bats for us, the better it is for us as a team,” Dravid was quoted by ESPNCricinfo on Saturday.
“But honestly, the move to No. 3 was a positive move to try and give him more time to bat. And we know how destructive a player he is and if he gets more time, then he can score more runs and that can benefit the team. So that was the thinking, but we can always assess that, and we can always see how it’s going. And I think he’s quite comfortable, he’s more than capable of batting at any position,” added Dravid.
However, Dravid did not rule out the possibility of RR being flexible if necessary. “But, of course, we’ll continue to look at, assess, and see how things go. And, yes, we know Riyan has done exceptionally well at No. 4, so this gives us an option.
Dravid — who has also coached Parag during the 2018 Under 19 World Cup where India had won the cup under Prithvi Shaw — also heaped praises on Parag’s ‘brave decisions’.
“Even in the game against KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders), his brave decision to bring himself on (with the ball), realising that the wicket was turning, with two left-handers batting, to bowl the fifth over in the powerplay, was a brave decision and a correct decision. So I think he’s been very impressive. As a captain, it’s nice for him to get this opportunity till Sanju is able to field again. And he’s sharing his thoughts and his ideas. Very clear. He’s very solid in that sense,” he said.