Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag faces heavy criticism after a 57-run loss to SRH in IPL 2026. RR suffered an early collapse, and poor bowling decisions hurt them. Former India opener and BCCI chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth slammed Parag’s batting and captaincy, saying he lacked impact.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag has come under heavy scrutiny for his poor batting and captaincy following the team’s 57-run defeat in the IPL 2026 clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday, April 13.
With a 217-run, the Rajasthan Royals were bundled out for 159 in 19 overs, ending their four-match winning streak. The visitors’ batting line-up was dismantled by Praful Hinge (4/34) and Sakib Hussain (4/24) in the powerplay, as they collapsed to 9/5 in three overs before an 118-run partnership between Donovan Ferreira (69) and Ravindra Jadeja (45) revived the RR’s innings.
Despite the brief resistance from Donovan Ferreira and Ravindra Jadeja, the early collapse proved too costly as the Rajasthan Royals eventually fell well short of the target. However, the RR managed to reduce the margin of defeat thanks to the late fightback, which helped avoid an even heavier loss.
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Parag’s Captaincy Under Scrutiny
The Rajasthan Royals' defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad has put Riyan Parag’s captaincy under immense scrutiny. The RR managed to get a couple of big breakthroughs, dismissing Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head by Jofra Archer and Parag, respectively, but failed to capitalize on n the momentum, allowing SRH’s middle order to rebuild and post a daunting total.
Ishan Kishan’s 91-run knock and his crucial 88-run stand for the third wicket with Heinrich Klaasen (40) laid the foundation for the SRH’s imposing total. Vital middle-order contributions from Nitish Kumar Reddy (28) and Salil Arora (24*) further accelerate the innings in the death overs, helping SRH cross the 200-run mark with ease.
Additionally, Ravindra Jadeja’s underutilisation with the ball further raised questions about Riyan Parag’s captaincy decisions. Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen were dominating the middle overs, yet Parag refrained from introducing Jadeja, a move that puzzled many.
Apart from captaincy, Riyan Parag’s inconsistent batting performance, including a four-run dismissal amid the collapse, further compounded RR’s struggles in the chase. When the Royals were left reeling at 1/3 in the opening over, Parag walked in to bat, but failed to stabilise the innings and was dismissed cheaply, adding to the mounting pressure on the middle order.
‘He’s Only There for Style’
Former India opener and BCCI chief selector, Kris Srikkanth, didn’t hold back in his criticism of Riyan Parag’s captaincy and poor batting after the Rajasthan Royals’ defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, ‘Cheeky Cheeka’, Srikkanth slammed Parag for failing to contribute with the bat nd questioned his decision not to use Ravindra Jadeja, calling the reasoning behind it illogical.
“He's only there for style. As usual, he did nothing with the bat and spoke at the post-match presentation. He's just there for style and does nothing else,” the 1983 World Cup winner said.
“He doesn't bowl Jadeja an over and then offers an explanation that a left-hander was playing. Is there some rule that a left-arm spinner can't bowl to a left-hander? It's absurd," he added.
Riyan Parag has been quite inconsistent with his batting performance, registering scores of 14*, 8, 20, 3, and 4, aggregating just 49 runs in five innings, raising serious concerns over his form despite RR’s strong start to the season.
Srikkanth Slammed RR’s Bowling Failure
Kris Srikkanth further criticised the failure of RR’s bowling, stating that the combined spells of Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, and Ravi Bishnoi took the match away from the Rajasthan Royals.
“The 11 overs between Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, and Ravi Bishnoi went for 142 runs. That's where the match was over,” the former BCCI chief selector said.
“Wherever Sandeep Sharma bowled, they smashed him, and Deshpande was a total failure. Suddenly, RR also has to start thinking about their bowling combination. If they bowl like this, they'll receive a thrashing," he added.
Following a defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Rajasthan Royals will look to make a strong comeback when they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday, April 19.
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