Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Riyan Parag have done a wonderful job in his first full-time stint as a leader by getting his side off to a stellar start in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). The Royals started their campaign with four straight wins before facing their first defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Nevertheless, they are still table toppers and one of the favourites to make it to the IPL 2026 playoffs.
In the absence of Sanju Samson, who was traded to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Parag has handled the transition phase rather impeccably. From his bowling changes to field settings, the Assam cricketer has mostly been accurate with his calls, which has reflected in the performance of the team.
However, a big concern remains about Riyan Parag – the batter. The 24-year-old has struggled to get going with the bat so far in the tournament. Across his five innings, the dynamic right-hander has managed scores of 14*, 8, 20, 3, 4.
This naturally raises the question whether his new captaincy duties are affecting his batting performance. Let’s evaluate.
Riyan Parag enjoyed his best batting performances in the last couple of seasons (IPL 2024 and IPL 2025). In 2024, he smashed 573 runs in 14 innings at a stellar average of 52.09 and a strike rate touching 150s including four fifties. He followed it up with 393 runs in IPL 2025 at 32.75 and a strike rate of 166.52.
However, 2025 was the first-time ever when Riyan took over the captaincy reins in the absence of Sanju Samson who was out due injury concerns during the season. Riyan Parag led the side in eight matches. While he struggled with his captaincy with a 2-6 win-loss record, his batting numbers were impressive.
In those eight matches as leader, Riyan smacked 270 runs at an average of 38.57 and an aggressive strike rate of 181.20 including a fifty. In contrast, in the other five games which he played as non-captain, Parag hit 123 runs at 24.60 average and 141.37 SR.
Overall, as skipper, Riyan has 319 runs in 13 innings at 29 average and 172.43 SR while as player he has scored 1296 runs in 64 innings, 24.45 average, 135.70 SR, & 6 fifties.
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Although the sample size of his batting records while captaining is relatively small, the numbers clearly suggest that he thrives as captain under pressure.
Riyan might hasn’t looked his best with the bat in IPL 2026, but he has previously delivered the goods while leading the side. He will only hope that the current form is only a short lean patch and he is just one good innings away from breaking the jinx.
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