What Did Riyan Parag Say About His Return to On-Field Action in the Duleep Trophy?

Bengaluru, Aug 31 (NationPress) East Zone captain Riyan Parag expressed that his main objective during the Duleep Trophy match against North Zone was to enjoy himself and reacquaint himself with the competitive cricket scene after a significant recovery period from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for much of the previous season.

Parag last represented India in a T20I against Bangladesh in October 2024, undergoing shoulder surgery before making his comeback in the Ranji Trophy for Assam in January this year. He also played for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025, where he emerged as the franchise's second-highest run-scorer, accumulating 393 runs.

"It was great. I mean, that was my primary aim when I stepped onto the field. I didn't concentrate too much on performances; I just wanted to enjoy myself. It's been a while since I've played competitive cricket. I haven't played since the IPL," he stated.

"In the IPL, I was managing a lot of stress and other challenges. But it was a pleasant outing. Although not ideal in terms of the overs we bowled, I still rolled my arm over a few times and batted for a while. I could have scored bigger, but I’m satisfied. My shoulder feels much better now," Parag shared with reporters after the game, which concluded in a draw, with North Zone securing a first-innings lead and advancing to the semi-finals.

After Abhimanyu Easwaran was ruled out due to fever the day before the match, Parag took on the captaincy for East Zone and scored 39 runs in the team's sole batting innings. He also bowled 22 overs in the second innings as North Zone amassed 658/4. Parag's heavy bowling workload was partly due to Mukesh Kumar's hamstring injury and Mohammed Shami's absence on the final day due to a toe injury.

"That was one of the challenging aspects to handle. Shami bhaiya didn’t bowl today, Mukesh got injured early, and since I was returning from my own injury, I had to bowl 20 overs. Utkarsh Singh, who normally doesn’t bowl, ended up bowling around 30 overs. This significantly affected our ability to field effectively, but we have to accept it as a loss," he continued.

"They played better cricket; I must give them that. I believe we could have performed better in the first innings with our bowling, but we should have aimed for at least 350 runs to restrict them. Once we fell short, they took a lead of about 200 runs, and their batters capitalized on that, making the final day merely a formality for them to achieve their milestones," he added.

With the domestic season in full swing, Parag, who is among the stand-bys for the upcoming Men’s T20 Asia Cup, expressed hope of rejoining the national team for the white-ball series in Australia scheduled for October-November, while aiming to score heavily for his state, Assam.

"I was part of the T20 setup, then took a break due to my shoulder injury. With the Ranji Trophy coming up and the Australia tour on the horizon, I aim to perform well. If selected, I will seize the opportunity; if not, I will return to domestic cricket and continue my consistent scoring, aiming for a strong IPL and a chance to represent my country again.