Guwahati diary: Riyan Parag’s family excited at their city hosting first Test

Come Saturday, and India will add a new Test venue to its 29-odd stadia to have hosted Test matches — the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. While the capital of Assam has been no stranger to hosting international white-ball matches, including a number of IPL games per season as the second home of Rajasthan Royals, it will certainly be a boost to the city’s reputation as the biggest cricketing hub in the North-East.

The sense of excitement is hence palpable among the city’s cricket fraternity, including those who have been synonymous with Assam cricket in recent times. For new age followers, Riyan Parag — a regular member of India’s white-ball set-up and a Royals star — is the flagbearer of the state while his father Parag Das was a prominent allrounder for Assam in the 1990s. And neither father nor son can keep calm about their hometown's new pride of place as a Test venue.

‘’We are excited as a family that a Test match is coming here. Unfortunately, Riyan is not here as he headed for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy straight after his engagement with India A,’’ said Parag, who played first-class cricket for Assam and Railways, and was also part of the East Zone Duleep Trophy team. Riyan, incidentally, has strong sporting genes as his mother Mithu Baruah was a well-known national-level swimmer.  

It was a touching moment for the family when last year, the Indian team management asked Parag to hand his son the debut cap in Zimbabwe for a T20I, making him the only cricketer from Assam to earn an India cap. ‘’The shoulder surgery earlier this year pushed back his plans a little. Riyan is a big lover of red-ball cricket and wants to play Tests for the country sooner rather than later,’’ Parag told National Herald.

The proud father felt a lot of the credit for the rising profile of sport in Assam rests with Devojit Saikia, the current BCCI secretary. ‘During our playing days, we could never imagine that Guwahati could host a Test one day. A lot of effort is being put in at the grassroots level by the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) to produce talent so that we don’t have to wait too long for more India caps from the state,’’ he said.   

While Guwahati is all set to rewrite history, Parag feels it’s time players from the state raise the bar. ‘’They shouldn’t be satisfied easily — that’s the bottom line,’’ he said.