"Dare to dream…" Riyan Parag reacts for the first time after receiving maiden India T20I call-up

Riyan Parag amassed 573 runs in the Indian Premier League 2024 season.

The Board of Control in India (BCCI) selection committee, on Monday, 24th June, announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, which will be played in July. The squad includes five new faces in T20Is for India. Among one of them is Riyan Parag.

It was expected that many Indian senior players would not be part of the Zimbabwe series as they are featuring in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Shubman Gill, who was part of India squad for the USA leg of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 as a reserve played, has been named as captain of the Indian side for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. Apart from skipper Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Avesh Khan, and Khaleel Ahmed have been added by the selection committee for the upcoming series.

In the spin department, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and off-spinner Washington Sundar will lead the attack, whereas pace bowling consists of Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Tushar Deshpande and Mukesh Kumar.

Riyan Parag shares a post after earning his maiden T20I call-up for the Zimbabwe series

The BCCI selection panel also awarded five Indian players who performed brilliantly in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2024.

Abhishek Sharma, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, and Tushar Deshpande received their maiden T20I call-ups for the national side after performing well for their respective franchises in the IPL 2024.

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Parag had a dream season in the IPL 2024. The 22-year-old Parag played 15 games and amassed 573 runs with a fantastic average of 52.09 and a strike rate of 149.22. The right-handed batter also smashed four half centuries in the IPL 2024 season.

During the IPL 2024, many cricket pundits believed that Parag should be included in the India squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, but he couldn’t find a place when the 15-member squad was announced by the BCCI.

After receiving his maiden T20I call-up for the national side, Parag shared a post on his handle ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) where the picture reads “Dare to Dream.” He captioned the picture with the Indian flag.

Here is the post:

🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Sx3iTP11wt

— Riyan Paragg (@ParagRiyan) June 24, 2024

India’s squad for T20I series against Zimbabwe:

Ꮪhubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.

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