Riyan Parag Says "Weren't Supposed To Qualify", Then Big Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Verdict

Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag held his head high as his team was knocked out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the penultimate hurdle. On Friday, the Royals were handed a seven-wicket defeat by the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2, despite Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashing another blistering knock of 96 runs off 47 balls. GT's opening duo of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan ensured that their 167-run opening stand took the team into the final. After the match, Parag had said that his team wasn't supposed to qualify, but players like Sooryavanshi stepped up and changed RR's fortunes.

While Parag admitted that his team failed to live up to the challenge, he had nothing but praise for the young Sooryavanshi. Joining a long list of admirers, the skipper urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to hand the youngster a senior national selection.

Several former India cricketers believe that this is the right time for the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to give Sooryavanshi his T20I debut. While some remain a little apprehensive, the BCCI has received another push for the 15-year-old's selection through his IPL captain.

"I can't really put it into words. There's one way where you just go and slog and then you get a lot of runs. But the way he's batted, it's not just slogging. It's not blind slogging. You can't do what he just did today if you were just going from ball one. He calculates; he assesses conditions. He does literally everything well. I still can't figure out how, but hopefully, he keeps doing that. Hopefully, he represents our country and brings more laurels to the nation. And hopefully, he keeps on playing for Rajasthan Royals and gets us to that second championship," the RR skipper said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

Speaking about the team's performance in Qualifier 2, Parag called RR's total of 215 runs a par score, but felt the wicket got better in the second half, which helped GT in the chase.

"It was a par score. I think 215 was defendable, but I felt the wicket got a little better in the second innings after the heavy roller. In the first innings, I felt the spinners had a little bit more grip, and the shorter, slower balls were sticking in the pitch a bit more," he said.

"At one stage, it looked as if 230 was on the cards, which in these big games can make a difference - those extra 15 to 20 runs. I think 230-240 would have made that chase really challenging. But with 215, given their batting line-up, we knew we had to get the openers early, which we didn't," the Rajasthan captain added.

Parag made a rather unexpected comment after the match, saying the Royals weren't supposed to qualify for the playoffs because of the number of youngsters and inexperienced players in the team.

"A whole lot of positives, actually. But if I had to sum it up in a sentence or a few lines, I feel we were not supposed to qualify. I feel we had a lot of young faces, less experience, less cricket played in the IPL, and a lot of new transitions and combinations we tried and tested. But I feel the character that the boys have shown and where we've reached today, being thrown straight into the IPL, I feel it's a great start for a long journey ahead," he opined.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Rajasthan Royals Gujarat Titans Vaibhav Sooryavanshi IPL 2026 Riyan Parag Cricket