Indian cricketer Riyan Parag recently spoke out about the controversy surrounding his YouTube search history, which went viral after the IPL 2024.
In an interview with City1016 Radio station, Parag recounted the moment he discovered that his search history had been unintentionally exposed during a live stream, triggering a social media uproar.
“I finished the IPL, we were in Chennai, finished the match, got on a Discord call with my streaming team, and it got publicised now, but it happened before the IPL. One of the people in my Discord team tried to set me up before the IPL, but that got taken down very quickly. But then after the IPL, the hype was there, and I had a good season. I came and opened my stream, I didn’t have Spotify or Apple Music. Everything was deleted,” Parag explained.
“So I went on YouTube to put on music, and I searched for music. But I didn’t know what was happening, but once I did the stream ended, I was like Oh s**t! This happened. It just got blown out of proportion. I didn’t think it was good enough a reason for me to go out publicly and clarify everything and no one would understand,” he added.
Riyan Parag faced heavy criticism and online ridicule after fans noticed explicit searches related to Bollywood actresses Ananya Panday and Sara Ali Khan. However, despite the backlash, he chose to take the incident in stride and remained focused on his cricketing career.
Meanwhile, Parag has been making history on the field. Born to former first-class cricketer Parag Das and national record-holding swimmer Mithoo Barooah, he became the first cricketer from Assam—and the entire northeast—to earn an India cap in July 2024. The emotional moment took place at the Harare Sports Club, where his father presented him with the prestigious cap as his mother watched proudly.
Though his debut against Zimbabwe did not go as planned, managing only two runs before being dismissed, Parag remains determined to leave a lasting impact. Since then, the 23-year-old has featured in eight more T20I matches and made one ODI appearance for Team India.
Reflecting on his journey, he shared, “Coming from Assam, I had this dream of playing for India. Really happy. Playing my first match in Zimbabwe will be special.”