Explained: Travis Head Incident That Left Virat Kohli Fuming, Triggered Handshake Row
Virat Kohli and Travis Head didn't shake hands after the conclusion of the Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers match in IPL 2026. The foundation of the conflict was laid when Kohli was batting in the middle.
- Virat Kohli refused to shake hands with Travis Head after SRH defeated RCB by 55 runs in IPL 2026
- Kohli and Head were involved in an on-field altercation when the RCB star was batting
- Head seemingly challenged Kohli to hit big shots, prompting a sharp 'Impact Player' reply from the latter
The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clash might not have been a high-stakes match as far as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoffs qualification is concerned, but a lot happened on the field that will be talked about in the days to come. SRH came out on top, securing a thumping 55-run victory on Friday, but what happened right after the match concluded was unexpected. Virat Kohli turned down a handshake offer by Travis Head, continuing their on-field altercation, which started when the RCB star had come out to bat.
Kohli didn't have the best of outings in the middle, scoring only 15 runs off 11 balls before he was dismissed by Saikb 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.
"Now that you are not going to be substituted, you might as well bowl," Kohli seemed to have said.
Kohli even seemed to point out that Head more often gets subbed out as the Impact Player. But since it hasn't happened this time, Kohli counter-challenged him to come out to bowl. After Kohli got out, Head seemingly said: "You are out, mate, before I could even come on 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."
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After the conclusion of the game, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also shared his thoughts on the incident.
"Travis Head did extend his hand, but Virat Kohli didn't shake it. I don't know what happened, but Kohli and Head had a bit of banter in the middle (when the RCB batter was on the pitch). The result of the banter was that Kohli refused to shake hands with Head," he said on Star Sports.
As a matter of fact, Head did come out to bowl one over in the match, but was after Kohli had already been dismissed. In his solitary over, the SRH star picked up the wicket of the RCB captain Rajat Patidar.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Virat Kohli