Riyan Parag

At 16, Riyan Parag was already a world cup medalist, having played a significant role in India's successful Under-19 triumph in the 2018 World Cup. The passion for cricket started at a tender age for Riyan, who used to mimic his father, Parag Das, who represented Assam in 46 First-class and 32 List A games. But growing up in a family rooted in sports - with his mother Mithu Baruah being an international swimmer - Riyan was spoilt for choice, and eventually chose cricket. Having made his Twenty20 debut for Assam in January, 2017, Riyan, who is a right-handed batter who also bowls useful leg-breaks, was spotted and named in the squad for the 2018 U-19 World cup in New Zealand.

The World cup success was preceded by another successful overseas outing, this time in the red-ball format of the game as the Indian colts demolished their English counterparts in a 2-Test series. Only 15 then, Parag played his part in the monumental success, stroking three half-centuries, including fifties in both innings of the first unofficial Test. An IPL contract happened at the 2019 auctions when Rajasthan Royals picked him up. He became the youngest player to score an IPL fifty at the age of 17 years and 175 days, beating a record jointly held by Prithvi Shaw and Sanju Samson at 18 years and 169 days. He was released and then re-bought by the Rajasthan Royals at the 2022 IPL Auction.

While success was easy at the early levels, Parag's struggle at the senior level is well documented. Despite being immensely backed at the Rajasthan Royals, the flamboyant talent struggled for runs and consistency, his off-field flamboyant nature proved to be a detriment in his career. But everything changed during the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 season as he spurred Assam's charge with plenty of runs across all the formats of the game. Success in the domestic front translated into runs in the IPL as he amassed 573 runs during the 2024 season, making him the third highest run-scorer of the tournament. It also meant that a national call-up wasn't too far away and Riyan Parag made his T20I and 50-over debuts during the tour of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in 2024.