Veteran India spinner R Ashwin recently backed his Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammate Riyan Parag, suggesting that the youngster often faces unnecessary hate due to his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The veteran also shared how Parag has performed well in domestic cricket recently and urged fans need to be more patient with him.

R Ashwin said in his latest YouTube video: “Riyan Parag is frequently criticized as an overhyped cricketer after just seeing his IPL performances. We sometimes forget that he’s a youngster. This season, he had a great SMAT, a great Vijay Hazare, and he hit 155 for Assam vs. Chattisgarh, the first match of the Ranji season.”

READ MORE: Virat Kohli shares the importance of maintaining diet

However, Riyan Parag made headlines in Assam’s first match against Chhattisgarh in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024, scoring 155 off just 87 balls in the second innings as well. But his knock went in vain, as they faced a 10-wicket defeat. Notably, Parag was also the leading run-getter in the latest edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 510 runs from 10 outings which came at an average of 85.00. He was also retained by the Rajasthan Royals for the next season of the IPL a swell.

Speaking about Parag’s batting in the Ranji Trophy encounter, R Ashwin added: “He scored 155 of 87 balls. He didn’t play for the sake of playing like a T20 cricketer. He was pushed into that situation. All the batters on the other end fell like flies, and he took charge of his own hands and played such a knock.”

READ MORE: “I want to play cricket for as long as I can” – Nathan Lyon

“I have great appreciation for the curator of Gujarat. If I’m not wrong, the game happened in Valsad. What a pitch! A red soil pitch. In a lot of places in Indian first-class cricket, they say managing a red-soil pitch is difficult and turns a lot. This wicket hardly turned but provided great speed and great bounce,” R Ashwin again shared about the pitch.