Unhappy Virat Kohli Left RCB Bench Not Long Before Travis Head Incident, Fresh Video Emerges
Virat Kohli's apparent handshake snub with Travis Head has become the latest talking point among cricket fans.
- Virat Kohli appeared to snub a handshake with Travis Head after SRH's win over RCB at IPL 2026
- Kohli invited Head to bowl off-spin during an on-field altercation that was highlighted by Irfan Pathan
- In another video, Kohli was seen leaving the dugout and appeared to be unhappy
Virat Kohli's apparent handshake snub with Travis Head has become the latest talking point among cricket fans. The incident occurred on Friday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, where Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a comprehensive 55-run victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Both teams had already qualified for the playoffs and were playing their final league-stage match of IPL 2026. Despite the defeat, RCB remained at the top of the points table and are set to face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1.
However, it was an underwhelming performance from the defending champions, who faltered in their chase of a daunting 256. Although opener Venkatesh Iyer provided a brisk start with 44 off 19 balls, RCB lost momentum and eventually finished on 200/4 in 20 overs. Kohli was visibly frustrated with the team's performance.
During the customary post-match handshakes, Kohli appeared to bypass SRH opener Travis Head, an incident that quickly went viral on social media.Â
Another clip from earlier in the match further fuelled speculation, showing Kohli in the dugout reacting to RCB's faltering chase before walking away in visible frustration.
HOT!pic.twitter.com/tz74Io9hnw
— browniesofar (@yessandnooo) May 22, 2026
Kohli didn't have the best of outings in the middle, scoring only 15 runs off 11 balls before he was dismissed by Sakib Hussain. However, the RCB stalwart's 11-ball stay was enough to trigger an altercation between him and Head.
From the visuals that surfaced on social media and TV, it looked like Head tried to rile up Kohli, which did work in SRH's favour. It seemed like Head had challenged Kohli to execute some big hits, which prompted the latter to invite the SRH star to bowl.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan summed up the altercation while doing commentary in the match: "Virat Kohli had invited Travis Head to come to bowl off-spin, he said you always go out as the Impact Player. The banter between the two started again, Kohli invited Head to bowl."
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Virat Kohli