"Officially too cool for school" - Riyan Parag completes graduation ahead of IPL 2025 [In Pictures]

Team India and Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder Riyan Parag was conferred a Bachelor of Arts degree at the convocation ceremony of Cotton University on Wednesday, March 5. The 23-year-old completed the undergraduate program designed for sportspersons in Guwahati, Assam.

Parag took to his Instagram account to share a couple of pictures from the convocation ceremony. He was seen holding his degree in one of the photographs. The talented youngster captioned the post:

"Officially too cool for school 😎 👨‍🎓."

Riyan Parag had a breakout Indian Premier League (IPL) season last year. The swashbuckling batter was the highest run-getter for the Rajasthan Royals in the 2024 edition, amassing 573 runs across 14 innings at an average of 52.09 and a strike rate of 149.21.

Rajasthan qualified for the playoffs after finishing third on the points table. Their campaign ended with a heartbreaking 36-run defeat to the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 2.

Following IPL 2024, Parag made his T20I debut in July during India's five-match away T20I series against Zimbabwe. He later debuted in ODIs as well, getting his maiden cap in the Men in Blue's tour of Sri Lanka in August.

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Riyan Parag returned to competitive cricket during Ranji Trophy 2024-25 after an injury-forced break

Riyan Parag sustained a shoulder injury in October last year, which sidelined him after India's T20I series against Bangladesh. He returned to competitive cricket in the seventh round of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25.

Captaining Assam against Saurashtra, he registered scores of 51 and 0 while also claiming two wickets. Saurashtra won the match by an innings and 144 runs.

Parag will now be seen in action during the upcoming season of the IPL. He was retained by RR at ₹14 crore ahead of the auction last year. The other players retained by the inaugural champions were Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, and Sandeep Sharma.

The Sanju Samson-led side will face SRH in their opening match of IPL 2025. The afternoon fixture is set to take place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on March 23.