"Taking a breather" - Riyan Parag enjoys his time away from the game 

Team India's all-rounder Riyan Parag was part of the Men in Blue's squad for their three-match T20I home series against Bangladesh earlier this month. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side completed a stunning 3-0 whitewash over the visitors.

After the completion of the series, Parag is unwinding by making the most of his time away from the game. The talented youngster recently shared a few pictures on his Instagram account, giving fans a glimpse of what he has been up to of late.

Parag captioned the post:

"Taking a breather.."

Riyan Parag scored 49 runs across two innings and claimed a solitary wicket from as many innings in the T20I series against Bangladesh. The 22-year-old didn't feature in Assam's squad for the second round of the ongoing Ranji Trophy. It remains to be seen if he will play in the team's upcoming fixture against Delhi, beginning October 26.

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"You will wish a lot to retain Riyan Parag" - Aakash Chopra on RR's potential retention plan ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction

Riyan Parag has been with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) since 2019 and it remains the only franchise that he has plied his trade for so far. With the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega-auction coming up, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra suggested that RR would be keen to retain Parag.

He, however, opined that they might have to let him go as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, and Sanju Samson should ideally be their first three retentions. As per the new rules, the fourth capped player will draw a salary of ₹18 crore, which Chopra feels is a bit too much for Parag.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, the cricketer-turned-commentator said:

"Their top three retentions should be Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal. You can decide one, two and three - it really doesn't make a difference, because whether you leave out Yashasvi, Sanju or Jos Buttler, they will go for 14 to 15 crores.

"All three are batters, which includes two Indians. Your top three is set. You need to retain these three. After that, you will have slight problems. You will wish a lot to retain Riyan Parag. However, I won't agree with Riyan Parag for 18 crores."

Parag was one of the standout performers for RR in IPL 2024. The right-handed batter was the leading run-getter of his side in the season, chalking up 573 runs from 14 innings.