THE cricketer had a very successful mission in the just concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 with the bat. But Riyan Parag, who played for Rajasthan Royals who came third in the tournament after champions Kolkata Knight Riders and runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad, came under the scanner for something not related to the game.
The 22-year-old's name started trending on social media X on Tuesday (28) after a screenshot of his search history on YouTube went viral.
Social media users swiftly recognised that the list had two entries -- "Ananya Panday hot" and "Sara Ali Khan hot".
Ananya and Sara Ali are two frontline actresses of Bollywood, India's Hindi film industry.
Read: KKR tweet saluting opponents Hyderabad after winning IPL trophy; called 'classy'
Soon, Parag, who is also a part-time gamer and streams his gaming activities on social media, was bombarded with a barrage of critical and ridiculing tweets.
However, there were also some who sympathised with the batter and said he was only a human.
Parag, who has more than 65,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, had a memorable IPL this year in which he scored 573 runs in 15 outings with four fifties and strike rate of nearly 150.
Read: Rishabh Pant will have a huge impact on T20 World Cup, hopes Ricky Ponting
His runs also saw him eclipsing Indian wicket-keeper-batter Rishabh Pant's record of 547 runs at No.4 position in the IPL which he made in 2018.
The player, who was born in Guwahati in the north-eastern state of Assam, was doubtful about his position for Rajasthan in IPL this year but eventually got to bat at the top position throughout the series.
Parag's failure to get a national call for the T20 World Cup did not go down well with the supporters but he said he was not disappointed and took a subtle dig at the selectors remarking that he was not even in contention to play in the IPL till last year.
Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Getty Images
Argentina's forward #10 Lionel Messi cries during the trophy ceremony at the end of the 2026 World Cup football tournament final match between Spain and Argentina at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford on July 19, 2026.Getty Images
Shakira performs during the Topps Final Halftime Show the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Getty Images
Haze from Canadian wildfires blankets the Manhattan skyline, including the Empire State Building, as seen from Brooklyn Bridge Park on July 17, 2026 in New York City. New York City has been under an Air Quality Health Advisory as the Canadian and Great Lakes wildfire smoke gradually moves through the area, creating a thick haze in the heat. Getty Images