“To not back him and go with Riyan Parag is wrong”

Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath expressed disappointment over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) appointing Riyan Parag as captain ahead of the 2026 IPL season. Badrinath believes a more seasoned Team India player like Yashasvi Jaiswal deserved the nod over Parag.

The latter led RR in eight out of their 14 matches last season as regular skipper Sanju Samson dealt with frequent injuries. However, the 2008 champions won only two out of those eight games.

Samson was also traded in the off-season to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.

Talking about Parag’s appointment as RR skipper, Badrinath said on his YouTube channel (16:58):

“Yashasvi Jaiswal has represented India so much and is the future of Indian cricket. He is already playing Test and ODI cricket. So to not back him and go with Riyan Parag is definitely wrong. Probably, Yashasvi Jaiswal doesn’t have any relative who is an owner of RR (sarcasm). I also wonder if RR enticed Jadeja from CSK with captaincy discussions, but later it didn’t materialize.”

Parag has been with RR since his debut IPL season in 2019 and has come into his own in the last two seasons, scoring 573 and 393 runs, respectively. Meanwhile, Jaiswal has also been with RR throughout his IPL career, which began in 2020.

“To overlook him and appoint Riyan Parag is not something I agree with” – L Balaji

Former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji echoed Badrinath’s sentiments on Riyan Parag’s appointment as RR captain. Balaji also believes that a multi-format Indian cricketer like Yashasvi Jaiswal deserved the mantle, if not a veteran like Ravindra Jadeja.

“They had Jadeja’s experience and even if they wanted to back a youngster as a leader, Yashasvi Jaiswal is there. You can develop Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is an Indian cricketer and a multi-format player that is doing exceedingly well. He is a big name and a proven performer at the international level. So to overlook him and appoint Riyan Parag is not something I agree with,” said Balaji (via the aforementioned source).

Jaiswal has been RR’s best batter over the past three seasons, scoring at least 400 runs in each of them. The side endured a dismal 2025 IPL season, finishing ninth on the 10-team standings with four wins in 14 matches.