"How can you blame the others?" - Former India cricketer slams Riyan Parag for his comments after RR's loss to RCB in IPL 2025 

Former India cricketer Amit Mishra lambasted Rajasthan Royals (RR) stand-in captain Riyan Parag for deflecting the blame of the 11-run loss against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) onto his teammates. RR fell short of the 206-run target at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday, April 24, to record their fifth consecutive loss in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign.

RR bowlers put in a weak shift, but the top-order made the perfect start to the run chase to instill hope. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi put on 52 runs off just 4.2 overs to rattle the new ball pacers. The hosts were in firm control until Riyan Parag's dismissal in the 10th over, when more than half of the target was already scored.

The all-rounder scored a quick-fire 10-ball 22, but it was not the most convincing of cameos. The majority of his four boundaries came courtesy of thick edges flying behind square. Parag's dismissal brought on Dhruv Jurel, who heavily struggled against the RCB spinners, while Nitish Rana's dismissal at a crucial time also did not help things either.

After RR failed to close out yet another run chase, Parag lamented the lack of intent by the lower middle-order batters against the spinners.

"We could have executed the batting better, especially against spin. The management has given us a lot of freedom, but we just haven't done it as a batting unit" Parag told the broadcasters after the match.

Amit Mishra remarked that Parag should have shouldered more responsibility during the run-chase rather than blaming his teammates after the defeat.

"You had the match in your grasp but the extra runs that you gave... if you take out the 14 wides that they bowled, they would have won. You yourself made a mistake in the crunch situation. How can you blame the others? It's not like you were too far behind the game. You were always in the game. You didn't lose by 40-50 runs. It was a close match," Mishra said on Cricbuzz (via Hindustan Times).

"You could have won with an over to spare if you hadn't got out at the wrong time. The kind of shots that you are attempting in a crunch situation, those could have been avoided. You should have thought of taking the match deep and finish it," he added.

After dropping Maheesh Theekshana from the playing XI, Riyan Parag had to roll his arm over, especially as a match-up to the left-handed Devdutt Padikkal. But, the part-time off-spinner failed to make an impact, conceding 30 runs off his three overs without a wicket in return.

"They didn't play that badly against the spinners" - Virender Sehwag defends RR batters amid criticism from Riyan Parag after loss to RCB in IPL 2025

Both RCB spinners, Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya, conceded 31 runs apiece. While the wrist spinner ended wicketless, the left-arm all-rounder picked up the key wickets of Nitish Rana and Riyan Parag.

"They didn't play that badly against the spinners. They took 31 runs each in their 4 overs. They also bowled well, took wickets so they had to bat a bit cautiously but it was still RR's match to win till Hetmyer and Dhurv Jurel were in the middle," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

RR are on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs race courtesy of the dreaded losing streak. They are currently placed eighth in the points table with just two wins so far.