Cheteshwar Pujara, the star batter for India, recently weighed in on the situation with the Rajasthan Royals. He mentioned that if Sanju Samson isn’t able to play against the Lucknow Super Giants due to his injury, Riyan Parag could step up to open the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal. This is a tough moment for the Royals, who have been struggling lately. Samson picked up a rib injury during a nail-biting Super Over loss to the Delhi Capitals and it’s looking uncertain whether he’ll be good to go for Saturday’s match on April 19.
Pujara has a lot of faith in Riyan’s abilities at the top of the order. He pointed out that Riyan has a solid track record against quick bowlers. “I believe Riyan Parag would be a good choice to open. He has shown he can handle pace well,” he shared in an interview with ESPNCricinfo. He emphasized that Riyan is typically a middle-order player but would do well in this new role, especially to take advantage of the powerplay overs alongside Jaiswal.
Up until now, Riyan has had a mixed bag in IPL 2025, racking up 173 runs over seven matches with an average of around 28.83 and a strike rate just shy of 148. He even took on the captaincy for Rajasthan while Samson was playing as an impact player earlier this season.
Unfortunately, the Royals find themselves in a tough spot, sitting in eighth place after three losses in a row. The team’s efforts seem to be stalling, and with Samson now also dealing with a side strain, things are getting pretty critical. Coach Rahul Dravid spoke about Samson’s injury, noting that he felt some pain in his abdominal area, and they’ve had him scanned to see how serious it is. “Once we learn more from the scans, we’ll figure out what to do next,” Dravid said while addressing the press before the match.
With only two wins out of seven, the Royals are really facing the heat. They have been on a tough road lately, especially after losing that close Super Over contest against Delhi, and fans are hoping they can turn things around against Lucknow. It’s clear they need to find their rhythm again to climb up the points table.
