He has not particularly impressed me as a captain

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag believes that just because the Rajasthan Royals (RR) made it to the Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, that does not make Riyan Parag an excellent captain. The all-rounder guided the franchise to the playoffs in his first campaign as full-time captain in a season that had a lot of ups and downs.

Riyan Parag was appointed RR captain after Sanju Samson’s exit from the franchise after IPL 2025. He had led the team on an interim basis during that campaign, but had a bigger responsibility on his shoulders after a massive off-season shake-up.

Riyan Parag has a win percentage of 45.45 as captain in the IPL, but Virender Sehwag remains unconvinced of his captaincy skills, as he believes Vaibhav Suryavanshi did a lot of the heavy lifting over the course of the campaign.

“He has not particularly impressed me as a captain. If one of your individual players has done something extraordinary, then you win the match. But he has had no contribution as a captain. He did not play the right players in the middle order. If you are not reactive to the bowling changes and the field placements, then it becomes difficult to make a comeback. I didn’t feel like Riyan Parag talked to a particular bowler or used someone at a time where a wicket could be taken. I don’t think you become a better captain by just going through the motions,” Virender Sehwag explained on Cricbuzz.

Former India batter Manoj Tiwary also had a similar take, going as far as criticising Riyan Parag’s body language after RR had conceded a boundary after the powerplay. He also slammed the skipper for going for glory shots when the situation demands something else.

“On the one hand, Shubman Gill is winning games for his side like a hungry lion. On the other hand, you have Riyan Parag, who had the perfect platform to play a captain’s knock, but then got out while trying to play a glory shot. I think he could have played with more responsibility. If your captain does not show the right body language, that too in the sixth or seventh over of the innings, the morale of the bowlers will be broken. There might be a discussion regarding the captaincy because we have even seen Sangakkara being upset in the dugout,” he opined.

Riyan Parag had a poor campaign as a player, scoring only 309 runs in 14 outings at an average of 23.77 and a strike rate of 157.65. He recorded scores of 20 or below, in 10 of those matches.

“If there was one player who looked switched off, it was him” – Manoj Tiwary slams overseas star player after GT vs RR IPL 2026 Qualifier 2

Manoj Tiwary singled out RR all-rounder Dasun Shanaka for his forgettable display in the Qualifier 2 match against GT. The Sri Lankan captain, who came in as a replacement for Sam Curran, scored just three runs off nine deliveries during a crucial phase of play in the first innings and fielded poorly in the second innings as well.

“If there was one player who looked switched off, it was him. Shanaka made three runs in nine balls. In a time where 240-250 is being scored, an international player is leaving the ball outside off stump. When everyone were going all out on each ball, he was leaving it. He was feeling the pressure. He was unsure whether to go for the shot or not. He could have also taken a catch had he called for it because he had the better chance of taking it. He also failed to save a boundary in the deep, so it was an off day for him,” he said.

The overseas player scored only 63 runs in five innings for RR at an average of 12.60 and a strike rate of 136.96. He bowled a total of six overs in the season, picking up a solitary wicket at an average of 60.00.