Former India player Irfan Pathan has criticised Travis Head for his lack of game awareness following the IPL 2026 Eliminator between SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in New Chandigarh on Wednesday, May 27. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel (Irfan Pathan), he criticised Head for throwing away his wicket to Jofra Archer as well.

He said: “Then came the third over. This is where strategies come into play. Riyan Parag probably thought, ‘Jofra Archer, come bowl your third over in the powerplay. You already have two wickets, now get one more. Travis Head is there, dismiss him. Klaasen is there too, get either of them out.’”

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“But what does Travis Head do? When runs are not coming this season, he moves away from the stumps and creates room. Just play normally, brother. Why not play normally? You know the opposition captain’s strategy is that a bowler who has taken wickets and is in rhythm is given another over to take wickets. you know that too. You are a senior player and a World Cup winner,” he further added.

However, Irfan Pathan also added that Travis Head’s poor decision-making hurt SRH badly, stating that it was a brain-fade moment from the southpaw and a crucial moment in the game as well.

“The lack of smart batting from Travis Head hurt Hyderabad badly. He completely exposed his stumps by moving outside leg stump. Before that, Jofra Archer’s length had mostly been short of a good length and back of a length. But the moment he saw Head move away, he targeted the stumps directly and bowled him. It was a brain-fade moment from Travis Head. That was where Jofra Archer and Riyan Parag’s planning was executed perfectly. It was a massive moment in the match,” Irfan Pathan concluded.