BENGALURU: A shoulder injury sustained during India’s T20 match against Bangladesh in October last year sidelined Riyan Parag from the T20 series against South Africa and the Champions Trophy in Dubai. After undergoing surgery to repair his shoulder, the 22-year-old made his return to competitive cricket in the Ranji Trophy earlier this year. He continued his recovery process during the Indian Premier League. His IPL season highlight was a remarkable 45-ball innings of 95 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders, which included six sixes off Moeen Ali and Varun Chakravarthy.Having fully recovered, the Assam all-rounder tested himself in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinals against the North Zone, which ended here on Sunday. As the captain of the East Zone, Parag scored 39 runs off 47 balls and took the wicket of Yash Dhull during his 22 overs of bowling in the second innings.After the East Zone drew the match against the North Zone and was eliminated from the competition after conceding the innings lead, Parag reflected on the experience, saying, “The match felt good. That was the main goal when I came here to play. I didn’t focus too much on my performances; I just wanted to have some fun. I haven’t played competitive cricket in a long time.”Parag acknowledged that his time in the IPL, where he served as the stand-in captain for Sanju Samson, was stressful. “Since the IPL, I haven’t really played any cricket. During the IPL, I was managing a lot of stress. But this was a good outing. I bowled a few overs and batted for a while. I could have converted my innings into a bigger score, but I’m happy. My arm also feels much better,” he added.Looking ahead, Parag, who is likely to represent Assam in the KSCA-conducted Dr. (Capt.) K. Thimmappiah memorial tournament stated, “I think it’s back to basics now. I took a break for my shoulder, and now the Ranji Trophy season is coming up, followed by the Australia tour in October.”