Riyan Parag speaks about his spat with Harshal Patel and Mohammad Siraj
Riyan Parag has been an integral part of the Rajasthan team for the last couple of Indian T20 League seasons. His biggest contribution to the team has been as a fielder, while he has also played some short little cameos helping the team’s cause.
But Parag grabbed the attention for an avoidable incident on the field during the 38th match of the Indian T20 League 2022. Parag was at his batting best in the match as he scored 56 runs off 31 balls and remained unbeaten giving his team a strong finish. In the last over of the Rajasthan innings, he slammed Harshal Patel for 18 runs and took his team to a respectable total of 144 runs in 20 overs. But things went southward after the end of the innings when the players were walking back towards their respective dugouts.
The Bangalore bowlers Mohammad Siraj and Harshal Patel were seen engaged in a verbal spat with the Riyan Parag. The incident did not seem to end there as Harshal avoided shaking hands with Parag after the end of the match. The video of the incident soon went viral on social media and divided the fans into two groups. While a group of fans took a stand for Parag another group supported the Bangalore players.
Riyan Parag is associated with Rooter as a gaming streamer. In a recent stream on the platform, Parag explained the backdrop behind the incident. He also revealed what went on at the time on the field. Parag revealed- “Last year, in 2021, when we were playing Harshal dismissed me and made a gesture with his hand. I did not see it then I only noticed it when I watched the video after going back to the hotel. That stayed with me. This year when I got the better of him, I gave it back. As the innings finished and we were going back to the dugout, Siraj called me and said, ‘You are a kid and act like one.’ I just said, ‘I haven’t said anything to you’, our teammates intervened at this point and the matter ended there.”
Some clarification by Riyan Parag about the "Twitter made Controversies" in his Rooter Stream today –
With Harshal and Siraj:- pic.twitter.com/xFPp5xurdE
— iThunder (@HiPrsm) June 4, 2022
Eventually, Rajasthan won the match by 29 runs and grabbed their position at the points table during that stage of the tournament.
