The feeling of playing in front of home crowd could be special for any cricketer, more so if one is the sole representative of the entire NorthEast region in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but local boy Riyan Parag doesn’t want to take those thoughts into the middle when he turns out for Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Stadium in the city on Wednesday.

After slamming a world-record seven fifties in a row for Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, Parag returned to Guwahati for his third IPL match in Guwahati. He will be keen on erasing the memories of the forgettable 20 at No.6 against PBKS last season in the venue, given his glorious run this season at No 4, a decision he termed as a collective one.

“It was a combined decision, both from me and the team management. In the past seasons, the batting line-up was already packed, so there was no scope for me to bat at No.4. I have always batted at No.4 for Assam in domestic cricket, and so before the start of this IPL season, the management and I took the call.”

Parag has finally come of age in IPL 2024 after a few underwhelming seasons, amassing 483 runs at a strike rate of 153, and feels proud to be playing at home but fears that taking such thoughts into the middle could hamper his performance.

“It’s a proud thing for me to be representing Assam and the entire NorthEast region but I don’t want to take all those thoughts into the middle. It will hamper my game,” he said.

The Rajasthan Royals will head into Wednesday’s contest on the back of three successive defeats but Parag feels that the side isn’t much worried about the outcomes, and wants to move ahead taking the positives from the last three defeats.

In the absence of Jos Buttler, the Royals will be going in with a new opening combination, and Parag hinted that Englishman Tom Kohler-Cadmore could partner Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order. “That’s the strength of our team, we have TKC as a handy replacement. He has been in great nick and we expect him to give us the start.”

While Kohler-Cadmore is now a regular in other T20 leagues around the world, he is yet to play a T20 in India, and hence at the pointy end of the tournament, it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of opening the innings with the Royals run the risk of slipping out of the top two – or, worse, even being knocked out – after the three back-to-back losses.

Desperately looking for a victory, the Royals can’t afford a washout even as there is forecast for thunderstorms during the day, but the weather is predicted to clear up later in the evening. The 22-year-old Parag doesn’t expect the weather to play a big part on Wednesday.

“We expect that the dew is going to set in early. The wicket was much better than it was in Chennai. We’re expecting a high-scoring game. But we won’t know till the first five or six balls are bowled,” he said.

Seventh bowling option

A reliable spin option, Parag’s utility as a bowler has been reduced ever since the introduction of the Impact Player rule in the IPL, and the all-rounder expressed mixed reactions to it.

“The introduction of the Impact player rule has made me the seventh bowling option for the team, as the team already has six bowling options. I’m both happy and sad at the same time, as my bowling isn’t required that much, but I keep myself ready for the matches, and keep bowling at the nets,” he quipped.