Kamal Ghorui
Riyan Parag’s lean run with the bat in IPL 2026 continued as the Rajasthan Royals captain endured another disappointing outing, scoring just 12 off 14 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders. While his leadership has remained calm and measured, his inability to contribute with the bat is starting to hurt the team at crucial moments.Riyan Parag in IPL 202614* (11) vs CSK8 (4) vs GT20 (10) vs MI3 (5) vs RCB4(6) vs SRH12(14) vs KKR Across six matches this season, Parag has accumulated only 61 runs, with a highest score of 20. His average of 12.20 and strike rate of 122 underline a prolonged dip in form for a player expected to anchor the middle order. Despite that, his captaincy has not been a concern. Parag has handled the pressures of leadership well, rotating bowlers smartly and maintaining composure even when games have slipped away. In this contest, Rajasthan Royals actually made a strong start after being put in to bat. Yashasvi Jaiswal and young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took full advantage of the Powerplay, racing to 63 without loss and scoring at over 10 runs per over against a largely ineffective KKR pace attack. At that stage, RR looked set for a total well beyond 180. However, the turning point came with the introduction of spin. Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine combined to completely change the course of the innings. Chakravarthy removed Sooryavanshi for 46, triggering a collapse that saw RR slip from a dominant position to 118/4. Parag walked in during this crucial phase but failed to stabilise the innings. Struggling to rotate strike and unable to counter the spin threat, he was dismissed for 12, adding to RR’s problems. Chakravarthy finished with outstanding figures of 3/14, while Narine picked up 2/26, choking the scoring in the middle overs. Rajasthan eventually limped to 155/9, a total that looked well below par after their flying start. For Parag, the bigger concern remains his batting form. While his captaincy continues to show maturity, RR will need their skipper to start delivering with the bat to revive their campaign.
