Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag revealed he was “definitely not fit” after helping his side secure the fourth and final spot in 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs with a crucial win over Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, May 24. RR defeated MI by 30 runs.
Parag, who had missed RR’s previous game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) due to a hamstring injury, returned to lead the team despite not being fully recovered. Following the match at Wankhede Stadium, the RR skipper admitted he was not expected to play again this season because of his injury.
“Yeah, I’m definitely not fit… I was not supposed to play today, I’m not supposed to play another game [in this season],” he said after the win against MI.
Parag scored 14 runs off eight balls against MI and was later seen struggling while moving around on the field as RR defended 205 runs.
When asked whether he would feature in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday, May 27, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, he quickly replied, “Yeah, of course.”
Riyan Parag unhappy with late qualification
Despite qualifying for the playoffs, the RR skipper felt the team should have sealed their place much earlier in the tournament. RR had lost three consecutive matches before winning their final two league games to stay in the competition.
“We should have qualified way earlier,” Parag said. “We left it a little too late, I think we left a lot on the table. And I feel we’re picking up the slack after losing three games in a row. Hopefully we learn from all our mistakes and we put up a better show.”
MI won the toss and chose to bowl first, with RR making a total of 205 runs in 20 overs. Parag’s side then restricted MI to 175 despite a late fightback from Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 60 off 42 balls and Hardik Pandya, who made 34 off just 15 balls.
