After parting ways with Sanju Samson, inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) appointed Riyan Parag as their new full-time captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. He was expected to carry the hopes of RR’s middle-order batting lineup, which is top-heavy.

RR started with four straight wins, thanks to the heroics of their top three batters. The rest of the batting order did not get too many opportunities. However, the weaknesses were exposed by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), when they dismissed RR’s top three batters quickly.

In such circumstances, teams often look up to their captain to score a match-winning innings and take the team home. Unfortunately, it has not been the case for Riyan Parag, who has simply struggled to score big knocks with the bat.

While he hasn’t seemed out of form, his poor shot selection and throwing away his wicket at the wrong time have cost the Royals dearly. As a captain, he has made some gutsy decisions on the field; however, his returns with the bat have been below average so far.

When Rajasthan Royals were searching for their new captain, the top two frontrunners would have certainly been Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Many have raised questions over why Jaiswal was overlooked, since the latter has been a regular feature in India’s Test team, and has had a far more significant contribution so far for the RR team, as compared to Parag.

Jaiswal has scored over 2300 runs in less than 75 matches already, also holding the record for the fastest IPL fifty. Parag, on the other hand, enjoyed a great year in 2024, when he scored 573 runs, but has otherwise always shown modest returns in the IPL.

In fact, in his last 15 IPL matches, he has managed to score just one 40+ run innings, which came against the Kolkata Knight Riders last year. In the ongoing season, he has managed just 81 runs, which is not something RR would have wanted from their captain.

The management, though, holds a different opinion, as they believe Parag showcased maturity and clarity of thought during a rigorous interview process, which the Royals conducted for all potential captaincy candidates, before appointing Parag as the skipper.

Parag is the regular captain of the Assam domestic team and leads his side in domestic competitions. However, there has also been unconfirmed speculation on social media that Parag holds a special connection with the Chairperson of the Rajasthan Royals, Ranjit Barthakur, who also hails from Assam.

It is still early days in this IPL, but time is ticking for Parag to prove his worth as both a batter and captain. However, if he fails to convert his starts into big scores, then the Royals might feel they made a wrong call, especially with a consistent batter like Jaiswal in the ranks.