Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag has come under severe criticism from former India batter Krishnamachari Srikkanth after they lost their first match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 57 runs on Monday.
Some of the decisions taken by Parag in the match has come under the scanner including his form with the bat, where he has crossed the 20-run mark only once. His performance with the bat has been under the radar because the Royals started IPL 2026 with four wins on the trot.
In the match against SRH on Monday, RR’s top-order crumbled to a fiery spell by Praful Hinge, with Parag dismissed on four. Srikkanth also called out his decision not to bowl Ravindra Jadeja in the match.
“He’s only there for style. As usual, he did nothing with the bat and spoke at the post-match presentation. He’s just there for style and does nothing else. He doesn’t bowl Jadeja an over and then offers an explanation that a left-hander was playing. Is there some rule that a left-arm spinner can’t bowl to a left-hander? It’s absurd,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
SRH bounced back in style after two straight losses. Riding on captain Ishan Kishan’s quickfire 91 off 44 balls, they put up a strong total of 216 for 6. In reply, the in-form Royals were bowled out for 159 in 19 overs, giving SRH a comfortable win.
Srikkanth also criticised RR’s bowling, saying that Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma and Ravi Bishnoi gave away too many runs. Their spells proved costly and made it very difficult for the team to stay in the game.
“The 11 overs between Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, and Ravi Bishnoi went for 142 runs. That’s where the match was over. Wherever Sandeep Sharma bowled, they smashed him, and Deshpande was a total failure. Suddenly, RR also has to start thinking about their bowling combination. If they bowl like this, they’ll receive a thrashing,” said Srikkanth.
