Young upcoming cricketer Riyan Parag has revealed what advice Virat Kohli gave him after experiencing a lean run with the bat. With Kohli having seen unparalleled highs and lows in his 15 years of international cricket, the Assam cricketer disclosed the former Indian captain's advice of sticking to the process regardless of failing.
Parag bounced back from his ACC Emerging Cup's final to deliver stunning performances in the Deodhar Trophy 2023. Playing for the East Zone, the youngster smashed a 65-ball 95 in the final against South Zone even as it came in a losing cause. The 21-year-old aggregated 354 runs in 5 matches with 2 centuries and picked up 11 scalps.
Virat Kohli tells Riyan Parag to accept the reality check:
In a recent chat with The Indian Express, Parag revealed that Kohli told him it's normal to question oneself based on a few failures in the IPL, but opined that it is only a bad phase and will pass.
"Mai puri baat nahi bata paunga (I cannot tell you the exact conversation). He told me 'something that has worked for half a year cannot be wrong after a few failures. What happens in the IPL is that the tournament goes on so fast that after failing in two games, you start to question yourself. Everyone makes mistakes and I have made tons of them."
"Two-three games don't go your way and you feel (the need) to change your process and work ethic. It was him telling me that 'take the reality check and accept that this is a bad phase but it doesn't mean that you need to change the process that has been working for you'"
Parag made his IPL debut in 2019, but had a disappointing outing in 2023, managing only 78 runs in 7 matches and didn't bowl a single over.