Parag slammed over captaincy, poor form as RR stutter after strong start to IPL 2026: 'Management will have to decide...'

Riyan Parag had begun his reign as full-time Rajasthan Royals captain on a promising note in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League, with the 2008 champions starting their campaign with four consecutive wins. At the halfway stage of IPL 19, however, the Assamese all-rounder finds himself increasingly under pressure, not just because of his decisions in recent games but due to his poor run with the bat this season.

The Royals, after all, have lost three of their last four matches after the strong start to the season, the latest being a five-wicket loss against Sunrisers in Jaipur on Saturday. Opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got RR off to a dream start in the first game of the season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, smashing a 36-ball century that helped Rajasthan race to 175/3 at the end of the 14th over.

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RR, however, could only add another 53 runs in their last six overs. The 'Orange Army' – who had thrashed Parag and Co by 57 runs in Hyderabad earlier this month to deny them a fifth consecutive win – ended up chasing the target down comfortably with nine deliveries to spare.

Zaheer questions Parag for not trusting senior bowlers

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan, for one, was critical about Parag's decision to utilise eight bowlers and not give seniors such as Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi more than one over. Jadeja, incidentally, has also been underbowled in RR's narrow defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders last Sunday despite being their standout bowler.

"Just because you have so many options, doesn’t mean you have to use all of them. Just because a bowler has bowled one bad over doesn’t mean you discard him right away. The only way they could have stayed alive in the contest was by taking a wicket and creating an opening," Zaheer said during the post-match discussion on Cricbuzz Live.

"I don’t think Riyan had a similar line of thought, and should learn as captain. 230 is a big total and when you know that the game is going to go deep, you should know which bowlers you are going to trust over others. Even if your premier bowlers leaks runs, it doesn’t matter as they are the ones who are going to get you a wicket," the Indian pace legend added.

'Management will have to decide whether he is the right choice as captain'

Batting icon Virender Sehwag, speaking on the same show, criticised Parag for his lack of runs this season and putting pressure not just on his teammates, but also on himself and his captaincy in the process. The former Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) skipper added that the Royals management should take a call on Parag and decide whether he is indeed the best choice for captain or not.

"Riyan will have to think about his captaincy. More importantly, the management will have to decide whether he is the right choice as captain for us or not," Sehwag said.

"If I am the captain and am not scoring runs, then it will also affect my captaincy, because I am thinking about my own form. I am thinking, ‘This Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored a century in just 36 balls. I am senior and experienced. Why am I not scoring runs?’ That does have an impact on one’s captaincy because you are too worried about your own form," he added.

Parag has scored just 88 runs in eight outings in the ongoing season at an average and strike rate of 12.57 and 112.82 respectively with a top score of just 20.

SRH, meanwhile, leapfrogged RR to the third spot on the IPL 2026 points table after their victory on Saturday. Both Sunrisers and Royals are level on 10 points with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but its the Parag-led side who have the lowest run-rate of the three teams and risk dropping out of the top-four in the second half of the season.