When I’m Fully Fit, You’ll See Me In India Colours Again: Riyan Parag

Months into Gautam Gambhir’s coaching tenure, it felt like the 44-year-old was extremely keen on integrating Riyan Parag in the Indian set-up in both ODIs and T20Is. 

Parag made his T20I debut away in Zimbabwe in July 2024, and then, just a month later, made his 50-over debut away in Sri Lanka. In the space of four months, the 24-year-old played 10 international matches, and it felt like he was going to be a regular fixture in the country’s white-ball set-up.

However, a year on, Parag is yet to add to his India cap tally since then, and many have now started to vocally vouch for the all-rounder’s inclusion in limited-over internationals. 

In a recent interview, the youngster said that he’s still healing from a shoulder injury, and expects to be definitely picked for India again once he’s fully fit.

“I felt I was pretty decent [for India]. This is my belief, or overconfidence; you can say whatever you want. But I know that because my shoulder was injured, I am currently not playing for India,” Parag told Sportstar.

“Otherwise, I think I can play both white-ball formats [for India]. Whenever I am fully fit, you will see me in India colours again.”

Parag is currently playing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) for Assam, and he’s in the middle of a horror campaign, with his scores reading 5, 15, 14, 0 & 5. He’s been finding it impossible to buy a run, but the youngster brushed off any concerns, and asserted that he’s very confident that he can bounce back emphatically.

“I have been through these phases too many times. In domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL), there have been three to four years where I have had to struggle a lot. I am also returning from an injury, so I have to be mindful about that,” Parag said.

The 24-year-old further spoke about why, thanks to his own personal experience, he considers piling up runs in SMAT irrelevant. He revealed that he is playing the ongoing edition just for ‘muscle memory’.

“I had two SMAT seasons where I scored at an average of 45-50 in seven matches, and then couldn’t score 70 runs in the IPL in 14 matches. I have cried in the bathroom because I wasn’t scoring runs. I have wondered whether I should practise or not practise at all, or whether I should go on a vacation,” the middle-order batter revealed.

“This [Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy] is all for muscle memory. If I score runs, then it is very good. If I don’t score, it is not like I won’t score in the IPL. Because it has happened that after scoring here, I have not scored there,” he added.