Riyan Parag thinks this year’s IPL will be like Domestic Cricket without fans
Photo: Collected
The 13th edition of Indian Premier League was earlier scheduled to take place in March and as usual the cash-rich league was going to be big before the global pandemic novel coronavirus brought the entire world into a standstill and postponed all the sporting events across the globe.
However, with the postponement of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup later this year, the IPL is scheduled to take place at this window in the UAE from September 19 to November 10 across three venues Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals’ youngster Riyan Parag has said that he is hopeful of playing at home.
“Disappointed no, but unfortunate yes because no one knew these times were coming. I am really hopeful for next year and I think we are going to have the IPL in Assam for the first time,” Parag told Cricketnext from UAE. “I really can’t wait to play in front of a crowd at home.”
Riyan Parag came in the limelight after scoring a half-century against Delhi Capitals last year and he hopes to do well in his second season and he has spent the lockdown working on his fitness as well.
“The two and a half months were a challenge. This is the longest time I have gone without playing since I started playing cricket. But I made sure the time at home I worked on myself, on my injuries and rehab. I think the two and half months was productive. Now as we enter tournament mode, I think it is going to help me because of the efforts I made which will help enhance my performance,” he said.
However, his side is likely not to get the service of the players like Jos Buttler, Steve Smith and Jofra Archer in the initial phase of the league as they will reach UAE later.
“We may miss them for first game, but at the same time, they will come in to the tournament with good match practise behind them so that is certainly a benefit,” Parag expressed. “It’s going to be a big difference from last year because the Indians crowds are insane and loud.”
He concluded, “Not playing with fans - I have that covered because we play so much domestic cricket and there’s not much crowds there. So it will be a normal game for me only with international players. The conditions are pretty much the same from what I’ve heard but we’ll know more for sure when we practice in the grounds and get a hang of the wickets.”
