Former India captain Kris Srikkanth has criticised Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag, questioning his credentials and performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Srikkanth’s remarks followed Rajasthan Royals’ first defeat of the season, a 57-run loss to SunRisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Monday, which ended their three-match winning streak. SRH vs RR: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
Despite Rajasthan Royals’ strong start to the season, Srikkanth expressed doubts about Parag’s leadership and ability to perform consistently in the IPL.
“He’s only there for style. As usual, he came out to bat, got out early, spoke in the presentation ceremony and went. It’s all about style for him. He has not done anything else,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube show.
Srikkanth also criticised Parag’s captaincy decisions, particularly the handling of the bowling attack. The former chairman of selectors found it baffling that Ravindra Jadeja, the team’s most experienced bowler, was not given a single over.
“You ask him why he (Parag) didn’t bowl Ravindra Jadeja and he says, they targeted Ravi Bishnoi and there was a left-hander in the middle. Is there some rule that a left-arm spinner can’t bowl to a left-hander? It’s absurd,” Srikkanth added.
DEBUTANT PACERS ROCK RAJASTHAN
SunRisers Hyderabad’s innings saw early setbacks, with Abhishek Sharma dismissed for a duck. However, Ishan Kishan’s 44-ball 91, supported by useful contributions from Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy, helped post a competitive total of 216.
Rajasthan Royals’ explosive batting, which had overwhelmed opponents in their first three matches, was stifled by two debutant pacers, Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain. Praful, a medium pacer from Nagpur, took three wickets, including that of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the first over, setting a new IPL record. In his second over, he dismissed Riyan Parag for a duck, reducing Rajasthan Royals to 9 for 5. Sakib Hussain continued the pressure by removing Yaashavi Jaiswal early.
Ravindra Jadeja and Donnovan Ferreira attempted to stabilise the innings, but the early collapse proved too severe. Sakib Hussain produced a strong spell in the middle overs and claimed the crucial wicket of Ferreira, who was threatening on 69 off 44 balls, with a slower delivery.
Srikkanth praised SunRisers Hyderabad’s young bowling unit and commended Ishan Kishan’s captaincy. “Praful Hinge finished the match in the first over. Ishan Kishan’s captaincy was also very good. They had four young bowlers. With them, they bowled Rajasthan Royals out. Superb,” he said.
With a boost in confidence, SunRisers Hyderabad will host Chennai Super Kings in their next IPL 2026 match on Saturday, April 18.
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