Riyan Parag Explains Why He Didn't Use Ravindra Jadeja As A Bowler Against SRH
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag didn't give Ravindra Jadeja a single over to bowl in the IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
- Rajasthan Royals lost their first IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad’s debutant pacers
- Riyan Parag chose not to bowl Ravindra Jadeja despite Ishan Kishan batting strongly
- Parag described the decision to not use Jadeja as a split-second call without clear reasoning
Rajasthan Royals suffered their first defeat of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season after being undone by Sunrisers Hyderabad's two pace bowling debutants. While RR batters are to be blamed for not applying themselves correctly, adopting a more patient approach against SRH, their skipper Riyan Parag's decision not to use Ravindra Jadeja as a bowler also left many scratching their heads. After the match, Parag was asked about the decision, and he couldn't really come up with a convincing reply.
Into his first year as Rajasthan's full-time captain, Parag hesitated to put Jadeja -- a left-arm finger spinner -- on, especially as Ishan Kishan was going bonkers with the bat. The RR captain said that he decided against bowling Jadeja in what was a split-second decision.
"Jaddu bhai, I don't know, it was just a split-second decision. Ishan was batting really well, so I didn't want to take that chance," Parag said, adding that he chose to use other bowlers instead.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Riyan said about the batting collapse, "Not a lot of time to feel emotions. Credit to the way they bowled. A few miscalculations from us. (On the pitch) It was pretty good. Felt bowling second might have been better. It was sticky with the new ball. After the shine went, it slowed down. But again, that is hindsight, and we could have batted better."
"Being five wickets down for nine, and still getting to 160, says a lot about the depth. It is just a blip. We move ahead to Kolkata and something better," he added.
On the performances of SRH's uncapped pacers, he revealed playing Sakib for Assam against Bihar.
"I have not seen them a lot domestically. Played Sakib (when playing for Assam versus Bihar) once. They bowled beautifully. The pressure they had, with the home crowd chanting their name, the way they bowled - it was beautiful," he signed off.
With ANI Inputs
Rajasthan Royals
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Ravindra Jadeja