Had lost 6 out of 8 matches… still why only Riyan Parag? Sangakkara revealed the biggest secret of Rajasthan Royals captaincy

Guwahati. Rajasthan Royals coach and director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara defended the decision to appoint Ryan Parag as captain ahead of the first IPL match against Chennai Super Kings. He said that Ryan's maturity and clear thinking for the team kept him ahead of other players. Rajasthan has chosen Assam player Riyan Parag as captain over many experienced players. Questions are being raised on this decision because last year under his captaincy the team won only two out of eight matches.

Sangakkara said that there were five candidates to choose the captain, which also included Sandeep Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. We had strict criteria and talked to everyone in detail. Everyone had the ability to captain, but Ryan seemed the best. Sangakkara said that Ryan showed a lot of intelligence in the conversation and also gave thoughtful answers to difficult questions. His thinking, vision for the team and desire to become not just a captain but a leader kept him at the forefront.

Kumar Sangakkara said that the senior players of the team will fully support Ryan. He said that captaincy and leadership are different things and both are not easy. We saw the candidates' introspection, thinking, honesty and ability to influence others. Sangakkara admitted that Ryan will make mistakes, but he will learn from them. He said that no captain is completely right, I too have made many mistakes. Ryan will get the support of players like Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Joffra Archer and Dasun Shanaka, who will be able to support him in difficult times.

Before this season, Rajasthan Royals traded their former captain Sanju Samson with Chennai Super Kings and included Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran in the team. Sangakkara is happy with this decision. He said that the best trade is one in which both teams are happy and a little dissatisfied. We are saddened by Sanju's departure, he has been a great player and captain for us, but this change was necessary. We got legends like Jadeja and players like Sam Curran, which improved the balance of the team. However, Curran is out of this season due to injury.