Virat Kohli vs Travis Head: Why ‘No Handshake’ Between Two IPL Stars Went Viral | Cricket News

Virat Kohli and Travis Head (Photo: X/Screengrab)

Tempers flared during the high-voltage IPL 2026 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 22, with a heated war of words. Virat Kohli And Travis Head The post-match handshake spilled over. The incident came during RCB’s dreadful chase of 256, with Kohli and Head exchanging harsh words in the middle. Head first sparked the exchange by challenging Kohli to play attacking shots during his brief stay at the crease. Kohli, never one to back down from verbal spats, responded with a sarcastic gesture aimed at Head’s role as an impact player for SRH. The former RCB captain sarcastically pointed to the “Impact Player” substitute sign and asked Head to come down and bowl himself instead of being chatted up by the outfield.Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathanwho was on commentary duty during the game, explained the sequence of events.“Virat Kohli invited Travis Head to bowl off-spin, he said you always go out as an impact player. The two sparred again, Kohli invited Head to bowl,” Pathan said during a commentary on Star Sports.As a matter of fact, Head came into the match to bowl an over, but that was when Kohli was already out. In his lone over, the SRH star took the wicket of RCB skipper Rajat Patidar. After SRH’s resounding 55-run victory, players from both the teams lined up for the traditional handshake. During the exchange, Head reached out to Kohli in an apparent attempt to move on from the heated on-field confrontation.However, Kohli completely ignored the gesture, walking straight past the Australian opener without making eye contact. Interestingly, Kohli continued to extend a warm welcome to other SRH players and staff, including captain Pete Cummins and opener Abhishek Sharma.Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also weighed in on the controversial moment during his appearance on Star Sports.“Travis Head extended his hand, but Virat Kohli didn’t shake it. I don’t know what happened, but there was a slight scuffle between Kohli and Head, which resulted in Kohli refusing to shake Head’s hand,” Harbhajan said.