Sanju Samson was putting up a defense on Saturday, one day before the Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2024 opener. This defense involved a player who, although having excellent results in domestic cricket, has not been able to carry over that form and consistency in the IPL.

Probably Samson isn’t as familiar with those issues. Still, he was willing to sympathize with the case of Riyan Parag, the Assam batsman who has been given a long rope by the Royals – five seasons and 54 games – but has been unable to regularly perform effectively with the bat.

On paper, Parag appears to be the entire deal, with the ability to hit the long ball, being a livewire on the field, and having a useful option with the ball. There are a few cricketing reasons why the Royals have kept the 22-year-old on their squad despite uneven results, rather than taking the typical ‘not-fit-for-the-higher-level’ decision.

Parag will return to the IPL after a stellar domestic season. This could be his finest. He was the leading scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with 510 runs at a strike rate of 182.79, and he maintained his strong form and scoring rate throughout the first-class season. It was simply a continuance of his run-scoring binge in SMAT and the Vijay Hazare Trophy from the previous season. However, the promise, potential, and form of domestic cricket have not transferred to the more competitive T20 competition.

For a long time, beyond simply supporting his talent, the Royals were forced to stick with Parag rather than choose him. Without strong Indian batting backup, a dearth of all-round choices, and bowlers with extremely poor batting pedigree deeper down the order, it frequently made more sense from a team combination standpoint to continue with Parag and hope that he would deliver on his early promises with greater regularity. That wait has lasted too long, perhaps harming the Royals’ chances in the short term.

Parag’s average score in 54 games is 16.22 points. Low averages are understandable given his role in the bottom middle order, but the associated strike rate – 123.97 – has been equally concerning. While he has rolled his arms over in every pre-Impact Sub season, four wickets at an economy rate of 10.70 is not much of a bargain.

It has been demonstrated that Parag has been used for an extended period with poor consequences. But imagine it requires extra perspective in the form of numbers. In that case, only Washington Sundar has had a lower strike rate than Parag’s 121.69 (in batting positions 6, 7, and 8 since his debut), and only R Ashwin, Washington, Krunal Pandya, and Rashid Khan – none of whom are frontline batters – have had a lower average.

Even with the lackluster showings, only five players have participated in as many IPL games as Parag without ever earning an international cap. Furthermore, since his IPL debut in 2019, only Rahul Tewatia has played more games than Parag, who has 54 without being selected for an India XI.

With Dhruv Jurel demonstrating his worth in the previous season and the Royals signing Shubham Dubey, a hard-hitting southpaw from Vidarbha, at the auction, Parag’s spot in the team is no longer guaranteed.

Nonetheless, soon after praising the Royals’ year-round player monitoring program, Samson extended his support for Parag, insisting that the young batter was most likely unable to reach his full potential due to his batting position and that the Royals are willing to back him up even more this season.

“We’ve been having many meetings since the last season where we have been discussing,” he stated. “Looking at Riyan’s career in domestic, India A, and Emerging Championships, he has done exceptionally well. When it comes to the IPL, we all know that it is the most competitive league in the world, and the players who come here are among the greatest. Someone like Riyan has played a lot of matches, but his batting position is such that he has been batting at number 6 or 7. This is the most difficult scenario to bat in. You only get five overs to bat, and you have to try and hit a six every third ball. Finally, he had a lot of failures and success.

“Maybe [we will] give him a proper go this season, give him a proper batting position to bat, and giving him some continuous games might help him cement his place in the team.”

While Samson’s declaration of support indicates that Parag will likely make the XI, it is unclear whether he would be promoted in the batting order, possibly replacing the slot left empty by Devdutt Padikkal’s departure to Lucknow Super Giants. However, with new squad reinforcements, alternatives available, and the Impact Sub-rule limiting the effectiveness of part-time skills, Parag will now be expected to capitalize on early openings.

It could be his time to shine, and Rajasthan will be hoping that it pays off.