(Aug 08), After earning his ODI cap, Riyan Parag was welcomed into the Indian team by Virat Kohli.
After Team India crushed Sri Lanka in the final Twenty20 International with a three-wicket haul, Riyan Parag watched from the sidelines as his team struggled to read the home team’s spinners. When Charith Asalanka, Jeffrey Vandersay, and Wanindu Hasaranga spun a web of deceit, and their Indian counterparts were less successful, Rohit Sharma wondered if he needed another utility resource, another spinner, someone like Parag.
But no call was made, despite the fact that the first ODI ended in a tie. Rohit was only compelled to make changes after Sri Lanka defeated India by 32 runs, putting them in a do-or-die scenario and on the verge of losing their first bilateral ODI series against the Lankans.
In the series decider in Colombo on Wednesday, Riyan Parag—the man with the golden arm, the man who wasn’t on Sri Lanka’s syllabus, and the man who is predicted to be the biggest revelation of the Gautam Gambhir era—made his debut in the India T20I format and then earned an ODI cap.
And who better to give Parag his priceless possession than Virat Kohli? Earlier this month, during the Zimbabwean tour, he made his debut in India. To put it mildly, he didn’t have much success or many opportunities. Parag scored seven and twenty-two in the two innings he batted, far too little to assess his standing at the top.
But when he shocked everyone by dismissing the home team’s pursuit with astonishing figures of 3/5 in Sri Lanka, many questioned whether it would be soon before he was included in the ODI lineup as well. When Kohli accepted India’s Player No. 256 in ODIs into the squad, the dream became a reality. In an inspiring speech, Kohli gave Parag his due and informed him that he,
“First of all, Ryan, congrats on being selected to play in your first game for India. We all know that, in addition to your performances, the people who choose you were watching you and noticed something unique about you when it came to modern cricket. In a video released by BCCI, Kohli stated, “And having spoken to GG Bhai, selectors, Rohit, and everyone, they see something special in you.”
