Riyan Parag is the major reason for dragging Rajasthan Royals’ home games to Guwahati, 2000 kms away from Jaipur

Rajasthan Royals' owner Ranjit Barthakur revealed that Riyan Parag is the reason behind the decision to play its home games in Guwahati.

Riyan Parag is the major reason for dragging Rajasthan Royals’ home games to Guwahati, 2000 kms away from Jaipur

Rajasthan Royals owner Ranjit Barthakur revealed that Riyan Parag is the reason behind the team's shift to Guwahati. (via X)

Rajasthan Royals have chosen Guwahati’s Assam Cricket Association Stadium as their secondary home ground and have played in the city since the 2023 IPL season. However, Rajasthan Royals’ owner Ranjit Barthakur admitted that Riyan Parag is the reason behind playing in the state. 

RR are scheduled to play their first two home games of the 2025 IPL season at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati, 2000 kilometers away from Jaipur. The first match, however, ended in a humiliating defeat, as the Men in Pink lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets. The home side would be hoping to stage a comeback in their second home game in Guwahati against Chennai Super Kings on March 30. 

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The team will then be making its scheduled return to Jaipur after that, playing the rest of its five home games at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. RR’s choice of Guwahati does follow a major trend in teams selecting a second home venue. Apart from RR, Punjab Kings have been playing their home games in Dharamshala, while Delhi Capitals have selected Visakhapatnam as their secondary home. 

However, the Rajasthan Royals have not enjoyed much success in Guwahati. In five matches played at the venue since 2023, RR have only won one and surprisingly lost three, while one match was abandoned. This has led to many raising concerns over RR’s adaptability to the spin-friendly pitch at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati.

In a major revelation, Rajasthan Royals’ executive chairman Ranjit Barthakur recently stated that the sole reason behind the team’s matches being shifted to Guwahati is local lad Riyan Parag. He added that the decision has been made in order to promote the 23-year-old all-rounder, who hails from Assam. Barthakur also confessed that RR has been making less money from its matches in Guwahati than in Jaipur.

Parag is the only player from Assam to have played for the Indian national team. He made his international debut against Zimbabwe last year. Parag rose to expectations in the IPL last season as well. In 2024, he ended as the season’s third-highest run-getter with 573 runs, only finishing behind Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad. He has also been prolific for Assam in domestic cricket over the last few years. 

Interestingly, Riyan Parag has been named captain of Rajasthan Royals for the team’s first three matches, in the absence of Sanju Samson due to an injury. However, his IPL captaincy stint has not been good so far, with RR having lost two out of its opening three matches. 

Fan invades pitch, touches Rajasthan Royals’ stand-in captain Riyan Parag’s feet during IPL 2025 clash

Rajasthan Royals, sticking to their newfound trend of playing at a home away from home, faced off against Kolkata Knight Riders at the ACA Stadium, Guwahati. The team had already suffered a humiliating defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the season opener, with the match being a high-scoring one. 

Rajasthan Royals fans Riyan Parag
A fan embraced and touched Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag’s feet (via Hindustan Times)

Playing in Guwahati, the spotlight was surely on young Indian all-rounder and RR’s stand-in skipper Riyan Parag. The hometown hero received a rousing reception from the crowd in the stadium. Surprisingly, a fan breached security to run onto the pitch. He touched Parag’s feet and hugged him, causing a slight delay in the fourth over of the match. Parag was taken aback by the gesture.

However, despite the home support, Parag-led Rajasthan Royals went on to suffer an eight-wicket defeat to KKR. RR could only post a modest total of 151 runs, batting first. KKR rushed to victory in just 17.3 overs, guided by Quinton de Kock’s brilliant knock of 97 runs off 61 balls.