"Riyan Parag era begins today" - Fans react to Assam cricketer making India debut in opening T20I vs Zimbabwe

Assam batter Riyan Parag will make his India debut in the opening game of the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe at Harare on July 6. Indian skipper Shubman Gill confirmed the same at the toss after electing to bowl first.

Parag has already become one of the most discussed players in Indian cricket for good and bad even before playing for the side. After a dismal start to his IPL career, the 22-year-old enjoyed a breakout 2024 season. Parag scored 573 runs for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at an average of over 52 and a strike rate of almost 150 in 15 outings.

The youngster finished as the tournament's third-leading run-scorer and was selected to the Indian T20I squad for the Zimbabwe tour. Besides the IPL, Parag also enjoyed tremendous success in the domestic circuit in the second half of 2023.

He was the leading run-scorer in the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) with 510 runs at an extraordinary average of 82.

Fans on Twitter congratulated Parag for his well-earned Indian debut with the following reactions:

The reactions continued to pour in for Parag's debut with one fan writing:

"RIYAN PARAG DEBUTING, THE FUTURE IS HERE."

"Riyan Parag becomes the first *man* from any state in North-East India to play for the senior national side," tweeted a fan.

"Riyan Parag era begins today," a fan wrote.

"A young boy from Assam was always dreaming about this" - Riyan Parag

Riyan Parag expressed his excitement at making the Indian squad for the Zimbabwe T20Is in a recent video shared by the BCCI.

The 22-year-old will be joined by Abhishek Sharma and Dhruv Jurel, who will also be debuting for India in T20Is in the series opener against Zimbabwe.

"A young boy from Assam was always dreaming about this. Now it has finally come true. A lot of happiness is there. From my childhood, I had dreamed of travelling like this. We play cricket a lot but other things which come with it, like travelling with the team and wearing the Indian team clothes," said Parag.

Parag boasts an impressive overall T20 record with an average of 33.11 and a strike rate of 143.65 in 114 games.

His spectacular IPL 2024 season helped RR rebound from a poor 2023 campaign and qualify for the playoffs.