New Delhi: When Riyan Parag came on the field for the first time, he was known for openly expressing his opinion on social media more than his batting, but then he faced the great batsman Virat Kohli for 10- Got good advice for 15 minutes and things changed for the better.

This 22-year-old player from Assam, who has faced criticism for speaking his mind instead of giving clichéd statements while talking to the media or on social media, has staked his claim for selection in the Indian team with his brilliant performance in the current IPL season. doing. When asked for advice from Kohli, Parag told ‘Jeo Cinema’, “I was playing in my second year and was going through a bad phase in the IPL. I was discussing with him how to come out of that phase and how he handled such situations so that I could learn from his experience.”

“He gave me 10-15 minutes of his time and shared a few things with me. I think that helped me a lot.” Parag of Rajasthan Royals has been in very good form in the current season and is third in the list of highest run scorers with 318 runs in seven matches so far. Apart from Kohli, Parag has also learned a lot from another legendary cricketer Rahul Dravid who was earlier associated with the Royals.

Parag said, “I learned a lot. Cricket-wise we know he is one of the best men in the game and one of the greatest cricketers of our time.” “How to carry ourselves outside of cricket, how to connect with the crowd, social media and generally how to present ourselves outside of cricket is something I learned a lot about from him,” he said. Is.”

Talking about his first season in the IPL in 2019, Parag said that it was a great feeling to be standing a few feet away from the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the match against Chennai Super Kings when he came out to bat for the first time. “It was a surreal feeling,” Parag said. I don’t really remember how I felt but I was definitely nervous. Playing against the Super Kings, going out to bat, with Dhoni behind the wicket, it was definitely a surreal moment. I was more excited than nervous and I enjoyed every moment of it.”

Talking about his role in the team, Parag said, “I think my role in the first year is one of my favorite roles in T20 cricket. Batting in the middle order, coming into the field with a few overs left and performing brilliantly on the field.”