IPL 2026: ‘Seek an explanation’ — Board of Control for Cricket in India reacts to Riyan Parag’s viral dressing room clip

Even on an evening when things went in favor of the Rajasthan Royals during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 after they handed the Punjab Kings their first defeat of the season, it wasn’t a fairytale finish with their captain, Riyan Parag, trending in the social media for a wrong reason. 

Rajasthan made a strong comeback in their 223-run chase at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh, thanks to the unbeaten 77-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey.

BCCI demands clarification after Riyan Parag video sparks controversy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reacted to the videos circulating on the social platforms which shows the RR captain, Riyan Parag, vaping inside the dressing room during the encounters. 

The broadcaster put their camera angle during the game which has sparked debate online. The incident has now drawn the attention of the BCCI with a board member confirming that Parag’s explanation will be taken carer before any further action is considered.

“He will be seeking an explanation from Riyan Parag on this issue, as vaping is not allowed. Depending on his explanation, the IPL will take further course of action.” BCCI told the Indian Express.

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The 24-year-old has gone through a poor IPL 2026 campaign as he has fetched only 117 runs in nine innings at an average of under 15 ad a strike rate of 124.47 with the highest score of 29 as he is yet to record a fifty in the season.

Rajasthan are at the third position in the points table with help of six victories in nine fixtures at a net run rate of +0.617. Their next game will be against the Delhi Capitals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, where they lost the first and previous fixture of the event against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

This is the second controversy involving RR in the IPL 2026 as their manager, Ravinder Romi Bhinder, was caught to be using phone during the game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Guwahati. He was later cleared by the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of the BCCI.

The board warned and put a fine of INR 1 lakh on him. The board had asked its ACSU wing to probe the matter, and the security wing didn’t issue anything. He had breached the BCCI IPL PMOA protocols during the game.

Fans and experts react as debate intensifies around viral clip

Here is how the fans and experts have reacted to the ongoing debate of the viral clip-