Indian Premier League is the best thing to happen for Indian cricket. The cash rich league gave Indian cricket a flurry of positives, and made the Indian board the richest one in the world. It also gave the nation a lot of players who did wonders at the international level. However not all the players playing IPL were the best of the lot. A few of them were playing the IPL consistently, but were not able to make the mark of the hype they had. But the efforts of the player themselves, and the faith shown by franchise helped them become an evolved version of themselves. It was witnessed when RCB backed Siraj when he was underperforming. And now it's happening with Riyan Parag.

Every IPL has some interesting stories to tell, and resurrection of Riyan Parag is certainly one of the most spoken tales about this edition of the league. And honestly, it is a pleasing sight to watch the youngster finally prove his worth after playing for years in the IPL. The way he is batting one might wonder if he is the same Parag whom one saw in the previous editions of the IPL. And now seeing him hit those crunchy drives, sweetly timed and effortless lofted shots it a treat to watch. Seeing him, Samson and Jaiswal carry the burden of Rajasthan Royals is a very heartening thing for all the Indians, who now only wish to see Parag do better than earlier. His transformation and journey from a budding player, to a trolled player to finally be a celebrated player, will surely inspire many others.

A son of a first class cricketer, Riyan was always destined to play cricket. And he went up the ranks as well. Firstly he played for Assam, and then he was a part of the India U-19 world cup winning squad in 2018 led by Prithvi Shaw. And the same year he was picked by Rajasthan Royals. Although he was a fine finisher, he never performed up to the mark. He had very little success, and yet the way he behaved was not well received by the fans. Unnecessary aggression, unruly behaviour and some amount of disrespect to the game found him to be at the wrath of the fans' anger. And all these things overshadowed the talent this lad always possessed. But gladly, he decided to change it before this IPL.

And his change is not an overnight one. He had to re-develop his schedule completely for the same. To begin with, he mastered the art of being humble, and being able to answer with the bat. He replaced his power with sheer timing and placement. He steadied his head position which helped him play his shots in a better way. He changed his daily routine and made sure that anything and everything he does is for the sake of the game he plays. He changed everything, from his practice sessions to gym sessions to his eating habits. And all of it yielded him results. His change was noticeable to people around him, and Suryakumar Yadav also noticed it and shared a heart-warming story for him stating that he saw a great player at NCA, who is Riyan Parag 2.0.

And Parag proved it right. Around 4 months back he once mentioned about his work ethic stating that it is also great, just that he doesn't brag about it. Knowing that he didn't do much good in the previous IPL, the trollers took this opportunity to roast him left, right and center. But little did they know that Parag was in his true senses when he said that, and that he really meant what he spoke. It was evident the very moment he got his first chance in this IPL. His shots looked flawless and his bat flow looked seamless. He mastered the art of handling pressure beautifully, and he learnt how to behave on the field gracefully. In just the first 3 matches, he turned all his trollers to make them his admirers.

And for those who still doubted him stating that these were rare occasions, he proved them wrong as well. Proving to be an asset for the Rajasthan Royals squad, he elevated his performance greatly. He scored truckload of runs, and became the only uncapped Indian player to cross the barrier of 400 runs. He is also in the hunt to get that orange cap, which he also got for a brief while in between. He also reached to a total of 1000 runs in his IPL career, most of which have come in this season itself. Furthermore, he is exceeding his expectations as a bowler as well. He has massively upgraded to be a better version of himself to the extent, that now the same spectators who trolled him till the last IPL firmly say that India missed a trick by not selecting him in the T20 world cup squad.

And exactly there lies his success. He might not be one of the most fanciest batters, he might not be a teenage sensation, but he surely will serve as an inspiration to show what a human mind can do if one decides to. With his vision, focus, discipline and efforts he transformed the nation's point of view with which they looked at him. The player who was once remembered for all the wrong reasons, is not grabbing headlines for all the right reasons. And now, when he would dance his traditional Assamese Bihu dance as a part of his celebration, the entire nation would love that. Parag proves a point that no matter when you wish to transform, you can always do it. And now one would hardly be surprised to see him donning that blue jersey sooner. And honestly, we wish to see it happen sooner.