On the back of a breakthrough season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag has been rewarded with an India call-up for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. Parag was the third-highest run-scorer in IPL 2024 with 573 runs in 16 matches. In spite of discussions regarding his selection for the T20 World Cup, Parag did not find a place in the squad of the tournament, which India won after beating South Africa in the final.

After being ignored by the selectors, Parag had claimed that he will not watch the World Cup, saying that he would only like to play in one.

“I’m actually not going to watch. I will only watch the final. I don’t want to watch cricket anymore because I want to play the World Cup. I think it’s a good feeling. I want to play the World Cup, play for the country. Once I see these people, I get motivated.

But then, I feel could’ve done something else. If I see the India jersey and cricket kit, I feel like I want to do something. I feel like I’m lacking something and just wanna go out there and smash some balls,” Parag had said during a chat on TRS Podcast.

However, after his selection in the squad for the Zimbabwe series, former India pacer S Sreesanth has slammed the youngster for his remarks.

“Some youngsters have also said that they will not watch the world cup because they have not been selected.I would say that first you should be patriotic then you should be a Cricket lover.

I would say that first you should be patriotic, then yes, you should be a cricket lover. But those who have selected the team, they should be supported with all their heart, mind and passion,” Sreesanth said on Star Sports.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill will be leading the Indian cricket team in the absence of Rohit Sharma for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. The team travelled to Zimbabwe right after the T20 World Cup 2024 where they will play 5 T20I encounters between July 6-14.

India's squad for T20I series against Zimbabwe: Hubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.