Riyan Parag confident of playing for India soon, 'At some point, you'll have to take me, right?'

Riyan Parag has been a revelation in the IPL 2024, showcasing his immense batting skills for Rajasthan Royals. And the player is confident that an India call-up is only a matter of time for him.

Riyan Parag's batting brilliance was on show in the IPL this year. After a few underwhelming seasons, the Assam-born youngster rose through the ranks and demonstrated his hitting ability.

In the IPL 2024, Parag amassed 573 runs in 16 matches with 4 fifties to his name. The batter was a menace to most of the bowlers and caught the eye of the entire cricketing world.

Although the player has been criticized in the past for not utilizing his talent properly, Parag oozes confidence and says he has the belief in himself that he will be having the India cap soon. He was not picked up for the T20 World Cup, but the batter ensures that he will stick to his process and the results will come themselves.

"At some point, you'll have to take me, right? So that is my belief, I'm going to play for India. I don't really care when. When I was not scoring runs - I said this in an interview as well that I am going to play for India," Parag told PTI recently.

"That is me believing in myself. That is not me being arrogant. That is what my plan was with my dad, when I started playing cricket when I was like 10 years old. We were going to play for India regardless of anything," he added.

India will be taking part in a series against Zimbabwe after the T20 World Cup. Will that be the start of Parag as an Indian player? The player actually hasn't set a timeline and said that selection is not something which he is bothered about.

"Whether it's the next tour, whether it's a tour in six months, whether it's a tour in one year... I don't really put my thought behind when I should play. That is the selector's job, that is other people's job," the Assam player added.

Parag's been at the thick of criticism but the player confirmed that he has learned to keep himself away from positive or negative analysis, and has stuck to his own believes and plan.

"The biggest thing that I've taken away from the last season is that believing in yourself actually works out, because a lot of people say a lot of different things, whether it's negative, whether it's positive. But at the end of the day, what matters is what you think about yourself and that is what I've been for," the player concluded.

Parag's rise has caught the eye of many, as India batter Suryakumar Yadav praised highly of the youngster, stating that he was like a completely different player when he met Parag at the NCA before the IPL. Even for Assam, the 22-year-old has been sublime, which continued for RR in the IPL 2024.