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Rajasthan Royals' skipper Riyan Parag has been in woefully out of form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. In six matches, he has only aggregated 61 runs at an average of 12.20 and a strike rate of 122. On Sunday, April 19, he was castled for 12 off 14 balls by Kolkata Knight Riders' Varun Chakaravarthy after failing to connect with a huge slog.

Despite the string of low scores, Parag got the backing of Rajasthan's assistant coach Vikram Rathour, who said that every player goes through such periods where good performances are hard to come by. The former batting coach of the Indian team also mentioned that Parag is returning from an injury and didn't play much competitive cricket before coming to the IPL.

“As far as I am concerned, it is just a matter of time. Not everyone makes runs every time. Teams run in such a way that some stay in form, some stay out of form. There is no doubt that he will come back and win us a few games on his own as a batter,” Rathour said in the post-match press conference.

“He has a lot of potential. There is nothing going wrong with him. One thing is he has come back from an injury. He has played less competitive cricket before getting into IPL. And IPL is a tough tournament. It is not an easy tournament,” he added.

On Sunday, the Knight Riders won their first game of the season as they defeated the Royals by four wickets, chasing down a 156-run target in 19.4 overs. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi top-scored for the visitors with a 28-ball 46. However, the inaugural champions fell way short of a par score.

In reply, the Knight Riders were staring down the barrel at 85/6 in the 14th over. However, a gutsy partnership between Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy took the hosts home with two balls to spare.

After winning four consecutive games to start the season, the Royals have slumped to back-to-back defeats. They would want to bounce back strongly when they face Lucknow Super Giants at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, April 22.