'I'm going to play for India. I don't care when': Riyan Parag's open challenge to India selectors

Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag recently returned home from a successful IPL 2024 campaign. Although his team failed to win the title, Parag displayed some exceptional form with the bat, for a change garnering attention for all the right reasons. 

Riyan Parag's open challenge to India selectors  

Riyan Parag had a breakout IPL season, scoring 573 runs at a strike rate close to 150 while batting at No. 4 for the Rajasthan Royals. Parag was recently asked about his future plans to which he exuded confidence and said that he will soon play for India. 

"At some point, you'll have to take me, right? So that is my belief, I'm going to play for India. I don't really care when," Riyan Parag told PTI on Wednesday.

"When I was not scoring runs — I said this in an (earlier) interview as well that I am going to play for India. That is me believing in myself. That is not me being arrogant. That is what my plan was with my dad (former Railways and Assam player Parag Das), when I started playing cricket when I was like 10-years-old. We (a joint project) were going to play for India regardless of anything," Parag added.  

There is a strong possibility that Riyan along with Abhishek Sharma and Harshit Rana will be picked for the tour of Zimbabwe.

"Whether it's the next tour, whether it's a tour in six months, whether it's a tour in one year... I don't really put my thought behind when I should play. That is the selector's job, that is other people's job," Riyan said.

In five previous years of IPL, Riyan, a 2018 U-19 World Cup winner didn't even enjoy a 200-run season and a vicious social media was more than unkind to a youngster who was making a transition from boyhood to manhood.