India, March 27 -- Riyan Parag has earned plenty of criticism, earned and unearned, since he made his IPL debut at 17 years old. Now 24, Parag finally seems to have a firm idea of who he is as a cricketer, and has been rewarded in turn with the captaincy of Rajasthan Royals - the youngest skipper in this year's IPL, and at the helm of a young and talented team trying to make waves.

In the last two years of the IPL, only seven players have scored more runs than Parag, who has seen a massive uptick in form in this period. This is a portion of his career that has taken the Assam batter some time to achieve - and plenty of mental fortitude.

Parag has found himself at the end of plenty of social media storms, as a character who is self-confi...