Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has stirred a debate on social media after criticising Gujarat Titans' (GT) short-pitched bowling tactics against Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 in New Chandigarh on Friday (May 29).
While the 15-year-old prodigy scored 96 runs off 47 balls in the knockout fixture, he was in for a fierce contest as GT pacers Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, and Jason Holder tested him out with a barrage of bouncers.
In fact, a sharp bouncer from Rabada struck Sooryavanshi directly on the helmet, forcing him to undergo a mandatory concussion test.
During the game, Pathan openly criticised GT's "bodyline" bowling tactics against the teenager. “Body line bowling to stop 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi doesn’t fit well with me. I know he is playing against the big boys, but the father in me doesn’t agree with that,” he wrote on X.
After drawing mixed reviews from fans, Pathan doubled down on his stance. He mentioned that watching the Sooryavanshi get hit on the head genuinely worried him and reminded him of the tragic death of Australian batter Phillip Hughes.
Notably, Hughes tragically died on November 27, 2014, at the age of 25, after being fatally struck in the neck by a cricket ball. The incident occurred two days prior, on November 25, 2014, during a Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Hughes, who was batting on 63, attempted a hook shot to a bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott but missed. The ball struck him in an unprotected area just below his left ear, causing a vertebral artery dissection that led to a massive hemorrhage in his brain.
Hughes immediately collapsed on the pitch and was treated by medical staff before being airlifted to St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, where he underwent surgery and was placed in an induced coma. He never regained consciousness and passed away two days later.
For Pathan, the sight of Sooryavanshi getting struck on the head served as a chilling reminder of the inherent dangers of the sport.
“Watching Vaibhav Suryavanshi bat is like watching my son bat. Seeing him hit on head made me worried n my thought went to Philip Hughes. Ofocurse if you play at this level you will be tested. Nothing wrong in that. Teams will plan against him. Sure. I can only wish well for this marvellous young kid. IT DOESNT FIT WELL WITH ME. (That was clear msg),” Pathan posted on X.
Despite missing out on a century by just four runs, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shattered major milestones during the second qualifier. He became the fastest player in history to score 1000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced (440 balls) and the first to smash 500 powerplay runs in a single season.
Sooryavanshi capped off a magnificent campaign with 776 runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.30, including one hundred and five half-centuries. Along the way, he broke Chris Gayle's long-standing record for most sixes in an IPL season (59 sixes set in 2012) by hammering 72 sixes across 16 matches.
