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Rajasthan Royals (RR) qualified for the IPL 2026 playoffs with a win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in Mumbai on Sunday.
Mumbai: Rajasthan Royals' captain Riyan Parag celebrates after his team wins an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil) (PTI05_24_2026_000532B)
(PTI)Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Riyan Parag on Sunday admitted he wasn't fit enough to play his team's last league-stage match of IPL 2026 against the Mumbai Indians (MI), but he played anyway.
Parag had missed RRs' previous game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) due to a hamstring injury, and Yashasvi Jaiswal stood in as captain for that game.
However, with a playoff spot at stake, Parag returned to the RR playing XI and scored 14 runs from eight balls. He helped RR seal a 30-run win over MI on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, as the inaugural champions qualified for the IPL 2026 playoffs.
Riyan Parag on his fitness
"Yeah, I'm definitely not fit… I was not supposed to play today, I'm not supposed to play another game [in this season]," Parag said at the post-match presentation ceremony. "Yeah, of course," the Assam cricketer said when he was asked if he would play the Eliminator. RR will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator on Wednesday (27 May).
Parag felt that RR should have qualified a little earlier. Between 26 April and 12 May, RR won five straight matches before losing to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 16 May.
Ahead of their match against MI, the equation for RR was quite simple —win the match and they qualify. RR did exactly that. After they posted 205/8 with Dhruv Jurel (38) top-scoring, MI were restricted to 175/9, with Suryakumar Yadav's 42-ball 60 going in vain. "We should have qualified way earlier," said Parag.
"We left it a little too late, I think we left a lot on the table. And I feel we're picking up the slack after losing three games in a row. Hopefully, we learn from all our mistakes, we put up a better show," the 24-year-old explained.
Riyan Parag hails Yash Raj Punja, Brijesh Sharma
Parag also had words of praise for Yash Raj Punja (2/44) and Brijesh Sharma (2/26). The two of them took a couple of wickets each to hurt MI's momentum in the chase.
“I don't usually praise them a lot, so they don't get all bloated and stuff. After today, I think they deserve it. Brijesh, the way he's come back, after getting a few games here and there, the way he's gone for some runs in the last few overs - how he bowled today, how he's been bowling.”
He added, "And Punja, I think [going] from a net bowler to his journey right now, being the lead spinner, I think, remarkable job. I hope they do it for another one game, and then, another two games.”
RR have not won the IPL since beating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to clinch the inaugural edition in 2008. Since then, RR have only reached the IPL final once, in 2022, when they lost to Gujarat Titans (GT). Sanju Samson was the captain of RR then, but ahead of IPL 2026, the Kerala batter moved to CSK, who were knocked out in the league stage.
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