Outside noises bothered me a lot, says record-breaking Riyan

Guwahati, Nov 1: Assam’s Riyan Parag who hit seven consecutive 50s in T20 cricket to script record said outside noise has been bothering him a lot since the last two years and now he has learnt to focus on himself.

On October 31, a dominant Assam mostly inspired by Riyan’s all round show beat Bengal by 8 wickets and booked a berth in the quarterfinal.

“I have become a lot calmer. I think I have become a lot more mature. I’m trying to understand my game as much as possible. Regardless of the situation, I’m cutting down all the outside noise which has been bothering me a lot, especially last year,” said Riyan after the match.

“I’m focusing on myself and putting my best foot forward in every game and trying to enjoy every game.”

Against Bengal, he remained not out on 50 off 31 balls.

Earlier, he scored a 33-ball 57 against Kerala. And before that, Riyan scored 61 off 34 balls against Bihar, an unbeaten 76 off 37 balls against Services, a brisk 53 not out in just 29 balls against Sikkim, a breathtaking 76 in 39 balls against Chandigarh, a swashbuckling 72 off 37 against Himachal Pradesh.

In the process, Riyan overshadowed the likes of Virendra Sehwag, Devon Conway, Hamilton Masakadza, Kamran Akmal, Jos Buttler, David Warner and Wayne Madsen.

Regarding the match against Bengal, Riyan said he asked the boys to enjoy every moment of the match.

“Straight from the toss, the plan was to bat second because dew would come into play and it did. Before going to bat, the aim was to take on the spinners. The first instruction is to enjoy themselves. I tell the boys to go out and enjoy themselves. Assam doesn’t make it to the pre-quarters every day. So, I wanted the boys to go out and enjoy every moment of it. And that’s what you just saw…everyone just gave their 100 percent,” said a confident Riyan.

Riyan displayed maturity and didn’t risk playing wild shots, unlike his IPL outings in the past. On the contrary, he was seen playing some well-executed lofted shots which earned him sixes of spinners. On October 31, he also played a couple of copybook drives along the carpet off the fast bowlers. He hit 4 sixes and 2 fours.

And like his batting, his words have also matured.

“I may say a lot of things but if I can set an example by performing in the field, they (fellow players) get it what I want to say. They are a bunch of youngsters and they are fun. I take a lot of inspiration from them,” said Riyan.

Now, Assam will play against Kerala in the quarterfinal on November 2.