Riyan Parag Made His ODI Debut

Sensational Assam all-rounder Riyan Parag made his ODI debut in the 3rd ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday 7th August. The 22-year-old boy became the 256th cricketer to represent India in the One Day Internationals. He also created history by being the first male player from Assam to represent India in international cricket.

Veteran Indian batsman Virat Kohli who Riyan admires a lot handed him the ODI cap. In the last month, he made his maiden appearance in international cricket during the T20 series against Zimbabwe in Harare. Riyan caught the attention of the selectors through his prolific performance in IPL 2024 with the bat and ball.

Even in the last T20 series against Sri Lanka, he scored 33 runs with the bat and picked up three wickets with his handy spin bowling in three games which were substantial in the team’s success.

Riyan replaced Arshdeep Singh in the series decider and it reflects the management’s faith in his ability to win India games. He made an immediacy impact with the ball, coming into the attack in his 3rd over he sent dangerous Avishka Fernando to the dugout with a leg break delivery who scored 96 off 102 balls. He then trapped Asalanka in front of the wicket and followed it up with a bold against Wellalage.

Overall, he returned with an impressive figure of 3/54 in his nine-over spell on his first ODI match, helping India to limit the hosts to 248/7 after 50 overs.