Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Riyan Parag (ANI Photo)

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has launched a sharp critique of Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag’s tactical call to hand Donovan Ferreira the 18th over in their IPL 2026 clash against Delhi Capitals, calling it a “suicidal move” that changed the course of the match. Gavaskar did not hold back in assessing the decision, breaking down why he felt the move was poorly timed and ill-suited to the match situation. He first questioned the tactical logic behind the bowling change, saying, “Handing the ball to Donovan Ferreira to bowl the 18th over was a suicidal move. You are bringing a slow bowler on a pitch offering him no help. He was just bowling in the slot. It was his first over of the match” Gavaskar said on JioStar. He then highlighted Ferreira’s fragile state in the game, adding, “He had also scored a golden duck with the bat. Sometimes you must look at where the luck is going that day.” Gavaskar stressed that form and confidence should have played a key role in the decision, saying, “If he had scored 40 or 50 runs and was high on confidence, giving him an over would have made sense. But he got out first ball, and you still gave him the ball.” He underlined the impact of that over on the match’s outcome: “He went for 16 runs in that over, and the match was gone. Done and dusted.” Finally, he criticised the broader tactical judgement from the RR captain: “Riyan Parag could have handed the ball to a proper bowler, a regular bowler. Even if that bowler gave away 20 runs, that’s not the point. The point is that at that crucial stage, giving the ball to Donovan Ferreira was a suicidal decision by Rajasthan Royals.” The comments came after a dramatic encounter where RR collapsed from a commanding position. Rajasthan had been cruising at 160/2 in 14 overs and looked set for a 220-plus total before Mitchell Starc triggered a stunning turnaround. Mitchell Starc produced a match-defining 4/40, ripping through RR’s middle and lower order, while Lungi Ngidi and Madhav Tiwari added key breakthroughs as the innings fell apart to 193/8. Earlier, RR were powered by strong contributions from Vaibhav Suryavanshi (46 off 21), Dhruv Jurel (53), and Riyan Parag (51 off 26), who had taken the attack to Delhi and pushed RR into a dominant position. Parag’s aggressive phase had lifted RR to a strong scoring rate, but Starc’s late burst flipped the game completely, triggering a collapse that saw Rajasthan lose multiple wickets in quick succession. In reply, Delhi Capitals made light work of the chase. Abishek Porel (51 off 31) and KL Rahul (56 off 42) stitched a 105-run opening stand, before Axar Patel’s unbeaten 34 and Ashutosh Sharma’s quick cameo sealed the win in 19.2 overs. The result lifted Delhi Capitals to seventh place with 12 points, keeping their playoff hopes alive, while Rajasthan Royals were left to reflect on a costly tactical gamble that has now come under heavy scrutiny.