Parag: 'Not thinking about Rajasthan Royals captaincy right now'

Riyan Parag is not thinking about the prospect of being appointed Rajasthan Royals captain, but is ready to take on the responsibility if the management wants to give him the job.

He could be among the candidates to take over as RR captain after the franchise traded Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2026 auction in December.

"There haven't been any discussions about captaincy at RR yet," Parag said. "Manoj (Badale) sir (the team owner) has told us that the decision will be made only after the auction. I'm not thinking about it right now either. If I start thinking about it now, it will mess with my mindset, and a significant amount of mental space will be occupied by just one thing - captaincy, captaincy, captaincy.

"If the team and management feel that I'm the right fit for the captaincy role, then I'm more than ready. Similarly, if they feel that I can contribute more effectively to the team as just a player, I'm ready for that too. My main goal is to have a season where I score 500-600 runs and take 10-15 wickets and help the team win the trophy."

Parag stood in as RR's captain for eight games in IPL 2025 when Samson was injured, with the team winning two of those matches. He has also captained Assam across formats in domestic cricket, first given the role in T20s in 2021. In this year's SMAT, Assam have won two of their five matches so far and are fifth in Elite Group A.

Parag said the experience has helped him improve as a player and a person.

"Last year, I captained in seven or eight IPL matches, and I don't know what people outside think, but when I went into the dressing room and analysed my decisions with the coaches and data analysts, about 80 to 85% of my decisions were correct," he said. "You learn a lot from that, and when you go to the big stage, you don't feel the pressure of how to captain or how to manage the team and the field. Overall, I always enjoy captaincy, and it has helped me evolve a lot as a person."

Parag is also not concerned about RR heading into the IPL 2026 auction on December 16 without picking a captain.

"In RR, any major decision that is made involves all of us. Any big decision is made only after consulting everyone. For example, now that Jaddu bhai (Jadeja) has joined, he will definitely be a part of our leadership group," he said. "There are around four or five people in this leadership group. If we need to trade a player in the team, or if we need to bid for a player in the auction, we discuss it with this leadership group and the coaching staff, and only then do the team owners make a decision. So I don't think we need a captain before the auction to go there and raise the paddle for us."

Parag also spoke about his close bond with Samson. "Sanju bhai has played a huge role in my career. I don't want to think about him leaving because if I do, I'll feel bad," he said. "I was very close to him, and when I first joined the team, he never made me feel like I was just a 17-18-year old kid from Assam. Perhaps that was also because he had a similar background and had also come from Kerala as a young player of 16-18 years old, a place from where not many cricketers emerge.

"He has taught me a lot and given me a lot of love. In the last few years, whenever Jos bhai (Jos Buttler, who was with RR from 2018 to 2024) would go back to England before the playoffs, [Samson] would make me his vice-captain, tell me to attend team meetings, and take the lead in team meetings, deciding what to discuss and what the team should do. So I've learned and understood a lot from him."

Parag has been going through a lean patch in domestic cricket, but he is confident of being back in India's white-ball plans once he completely heals from a shoulder niggle.

In September, he had scored three List A half-centuries for India A against Australia A but his form dipped in the unofficial ODIs against South Africa A. Then, in three Ranji Trophy games, he made just 100 runs, averaging 20. In the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), he made scores of 5, 15, 14, 0, and 5.

"Having played in the IPL and domestic cricket for so long, I've gone through these phases (of bad form) many times. Just because I'm not scoring runs here doesn't mean I won't score runs in the IPL," he said. "There have been three or four instances where I've struggled in the domestic season but then performed well in the IPL. There have also been two occasions where I scored runs at an average of 45 or 50 in seven SMAT matches, but in the same season, I couldn't even manage 70 runs in 14 IPL matches.

"I even cried in the bathroom wondering why I wasn't scoring runs. I used to think, 'what should I do? Should I practice a little extra, or not practice at all, or just go on a holiday?' I've tried everything. Now I don't think about all that too much. Now, my frame of mind is the most important thing for me, and I focus on enjoying my game and my life; the runs will come eventually.

"So I wouldn't say this form is a cause for concern for me. I don't see any technical issues in my batting at the moment either. If there were any problems, my dad would tell me; he watches all my matches. It's just that I'm coming back from a shoulder injury, so I have to play a little cautiously. I think it's because of this injury that I'm not currently in the Indian team. Otherwise, I think I can play in both formats of white-ball cricket. As soon as my shoulder is completely healed, you'll see me back in the Indian blue jersey again, because I don't think I've done anything wrong or played bad whenever I've been given an opportunity in the Indian team."

Parag made his T20I debut in July 2024 and has played nine games. His lone ODI appearance came in August 2024.