Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag has urged the commentators to talk about cricket only and not shed light on the off-field incidents. Parag was recently involved in a controversy as he was seen vaping in the dressing room.

The Assamese batter was fined 25% of his match fee and handed one demerit point after he was caught vaping during the match against Punjab Kings at New Chandigarh.

Parag “was found to have breached Article 2.21 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which relates to conduct that brings the game into disrepute,” a BCCI statement.

Significantly, the BCCI said it was “exploring other options to initiate proceedings for stringent action against the erring team, its officials and player/s to ensure that the reputation of IPL remains intact”.

“As far as the IPL is concerned, there are a lot of things happening outside this year,” Parag said in the post-match press conference. “We, as players, try to give our best whenever we can. It is easy to say after a poor performance that players do not know how to play or lack the mindset, but people do not see the three to four days of preparation behind every match.”

Parag said players can also make mistakes as they are human too.

“We are humans too and we make mistakes too,” he said. “Cricket is the country’s biggest sport and it should be treated with respect. We should only talk about cricket, not anything else.”

The RR skipper added he has learned to ignore criticism as he has matured in his career.

“For the last four years, I have understood that no matter what I do, there will always be talks,” he said. “But I have also realised that it should not affect my game, my form, or my mindset because keyboard warriors are outsiders.”

Rajasthan Royals will play their last league stage match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Sunday.