Riyan Parag Declared Fit for Return as Assam’s Captain in Ranji Trophy's Seventh Round

Riyan Parag has fully recovered from his shoulder surgery. The Assam all-rounder has been sidelined for three months. He played in the T20I series against Bangladesh but has missed the following two white-ball series. After making his debut in July last year, Parag was rapidly becoming a key player in the team under Gautam Gambhir.

The new head coach of the India cricket team believes in having a strong depth in batting and bowling, and Parag does very well in that respect. He was excluded from the current ongoing England T20I series due to injury concerns, but it seems the NCA medical team has given him the green light.

Parag will be returning to action in domestic cricket. He has been added to Assam's squad for the final round of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy and will lead the side against Saurashtra replacing Denish Das. Parag had captained Assam last season and will do so again.

Riyan Parag will have the burden to give Assam their first win of the season. They have already lost two matches and drawn four. The captaincy record of Parag is not very impressive either (0-3 in 4 matches) and will be eager to earn his maiden success as skipper. The Ranji Trophy match will thus also give him another opportunity to try and prove to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he is fit to be selected.

Although Parag hasn’t been called up to Team India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, he can be considered as a traveling reserve. He is an all-rounder and hence can fight for one of the three reserve spots. His performance and fitness in the match against Saurashtra may only increase his chances of selection.

Assam Squad for Ranji Trophy Last Round

Riyan Parag (C), Denish Das, Mukhtar Hussain, Mrinmoy Dutta, Rahul Singh, Dipjyoti Saikia, Parvez Musaraf, Sumit Ghadigaonkar (wk), Rishav Das, Anurag Talukdar (wk), Avinav Choudhury, Sibsankar Roy, Akash Sengupta, Pradyun Saikia, Amlanjyoti Das.