Riyan Parag revealed his excitement while catching his first flight to travel with the Indian cricket team for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. The young cricketer received his maiden international call after impressive performances in the domestic tournaments and IPL 2024.
The 22-year-old batting all-rounder had it coming but the thought of knowing his dream to play for India made him misplace his passport and phone. In a video shared by the BCCI, the Rajasthan Royals cricketer revealed how he missed his things while packing for the team flight.
"From my childhood, I had dreamed of travelling like this," Parag said in a video shared by the BCCI. "We play cricket a lot but other things which come with it, like travelling with the team and wearing the Indian team clothes.
"So excited that I forgot my passport, my phone. I have not forgotten but I misplaced them. I have it now. It's a new team. Almost a very new team. A lot of new faces in the Indian squad but a lot of old faces as well as I have played with them a lot."
Meanwhile, Parag also added that he holds a special connection with Zimbaber and the ground at Harare Sports Club which will host all five T20Is starting on July 6.
"A young boy from Assam was always dreaming about this. Now it has finally come true. A lot of happiness is there. And Zimbabwe will have a special connection. Whenever I play my first match, it will be a special moment for that ground and myself, which will be very secret," said Parag.
Apart from Parag, Abhishek Sharma, Tushar Deshpande and Nitish Kumar were also selected for the team for the first time. Nitish Kumar, who bagged the IPL 2024 Emerging Player award, was forced to withdraw his name due to an injury and was replaced by Shivam Dube.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube will miss the first two matches after team India's return plans were disrupted due to a hurricane in Barbados. The trio was replaced by Nitish Rana, Jitesh Sharma and Sai Sudharsan for the first two games against Zimbabwe.
