‘Seeing Him Hit Scared Me’ – Irfan Pathan on RR Teen Star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Irfan Pathan said watching Vaibhav Sooryavanshi bat feels like watching his own son after the RR star was hit on the head.

Irfan Pathan expressed concern for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after the teenage batter suffered a blow to the head during Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 clash against Gujarat Titans. The former India all-rounder said watching Sooryavanshi bat reminds him of his own son. Pathan also revealed that the incident brought back memories of late Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died after a head injury during a Sheffield Shield match.

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Pathan accepted that bowlers will continue targeting the youngster at the highest level but added that some tactics used against him “did not sit well” with him.

“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,” he wrote.

“I can only wish well for this marvellous young kid. IT DOESNT FIT WELL WITH ME. (That was clear msg),” Pathan added.

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…

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 30, 2026

Despite the worrying moment, Sooryavanshi continued his brilliant form and scored 96, narrowly missing a century by just 4 runs. He finished IPL 2026 with 776 runs from 16 innings at an impressive average of 48.50.

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