While the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 is done and dusted, fans are still eager to know what transpired between Riyan Parag and Harshal Patel during the clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). The two players were seen having a heated verbal battle and no one knew what was it that led to the acceleration.
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However, now Riyan Parag has finally opened up about the incident and said that he was instigated by Harshal’s teammate Mohammed Siraj. It was after that that Harshal also joined the duel. Parag said that he had made a hand gesture towards Harshal after he smashed him for boundaries.
The gesture from the batter came after the pacer had apparently done the same after dismissing him in IPL 2021.
“Last year, Harshal Patel had dismissed me when we were playing against RCB. I was walking back. Then, he made a hand gesture telling me to go away. I didn’t see that on the spot. I saw that when I went back to the hotel and saw the replay. It stuck in my mind since,” Parag spoke during a gaming stream on Rooter.
“Now, when I hit him (Harshal) in the last over (against RCB in IPL 2022), I did the same gesture. I didn’t say anything, I didn’t abuse. But then, Siraj called me and said, “Hey, come here, come here’. He said, ‘you’re a kid, behave like a kid’,” he added.
“I told him, ‘bhaiya, I’m not saying anything to you’. By then, players from both the teams came and it ended there. Later, Harshal didn’t shake my hand. which I thought was a little immature,” Parag concluded.
Talking about the Indian cricketers, they will be hosting South Africa for five T20Is. The first match of the five-match T20I series between KL Rahul-led India and Temba Bavuma-led South Africa will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on June 9.
