Sunil Gavaskar criticised the dismissal of Riyan Parag during a crucial juncture of the second Qualifier between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, saying his talent was of no use if he wasn’t going to “think”.
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Rajasthan needed 176 to make the final of the 2024 Indian Premier League but stuttered in their run chase, falling to 67-3 in 8.3 overs, before the slower bowlers came on. The introduction of Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed further slowed down the innings as RR did not score a single boundary in 22 balls before Parag decided to break the shackles and go for a big one.
Batting on six off nine at the time, Parag decided to take on Shahbaz, who had been wicketless in his last nine games. The first ball of the 12th over was a back-of-a-length delivery, which Parag looked to smash away for a six. However, he was only able to get a thick top edge that went straight up to Abhishek at deep mid-wicket.
The dismissal left Gavaskar furious, who asked “Seriously?” thrice on air, questioning the lack of temperament from the batter. “”Seriously, seriously? What’s the use of all the talent if you are not going to think? What kind of shot is that, seriously? So much talent. If you don’t have the temperament, it won’t work. So what if you had a few dot balls? You can still make up for it.”
The dismissal of Parag, who is third on the batters with the most runs in the ongoing IPL, sparked a collapse as RR lost three wickets in the space of 15 balls. They could never recover as Hyderabad advanced to the final and will meet Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday (May 26).
Parag ends the season as the third highest run-getter, only behind Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
