IPL 2026: ‘They are the face of Rajasthan Royals’ – Irfan Pathan heaps praise on explosive duo

IPL 2026: Irfan Pathan heaps praise on explosive duo (Source: Rajasthan Royals/Instagram)

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has hailed Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) explosive openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi as the face of the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The duo were first unleashed together midway through the 2025 campaign.

Rajasthan Royals have long been a franchise that backs young talent. They signed Jaiswal for INR 2.4 crore before he had played a single T20 match, and he has since become an integral all-format player for India. The 2008 champions also took a big risk by signing Suryavanshi for INR 1.1 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Suryavanshi, just 13 years old at the time, became the youngest player ever to feature in the league and made a significant impact in his debut campaign. With RR finishing ninth in the 2025 edition, expectations are high for the pair to lead the team’s resurgence in IPL 2026.

“Who is the face of Rajasthan Royals? Your eyes first go towards Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The way these two players have taken their careers forward is commendable. When you are young, you lack experience, and sometimes when you come in front of a big player, you appear to be on the back foot. But that was not seen in his case, Suryavanshi ignored the age factor quickly, and he has created a unique place for himself. There is a lot of responsibility on both of them, and in a short time they have become the face of Rajasthan,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Pathan also praised RR’s strong Indian core, which has been further strengthened with the addition of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. The franchise has consistently retained Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, and Jaiswal to maintain a solid Indian backbone.

“You can see a clear Indian core when you look at this team, where there is a good mix of experience and inexperience. If you talk about Yashasvi Jaiswal, he brings experience with him, Riyan Parag has also been playing for many years, and he will be captain now. Dhruv Jurel is also experienced now and Ravindra Jadeja’s arrival means that the Indian core has a lot of experience,” Pathan said.