Virat Kohli was involved in a heated on-field exchange with Travis Head during the SRH versus RCB match in the IPL 2026 and also refused to shake hands with the Australian after the match, sparking debate over sportsmanship.
During his brief stay at the crease, Kohli challenged Head to come and bowl some deliveries. The RCB stalwart also mocked him with the "Impact Player" gesture because SRH usually reserve Head for the batting innings.
Since Head was present on the field during the run chase on Friday (May 22) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, he became a target for Kohli’s fiery banter.
Shortly after, Kohli was dismissed by Sakib Hussain for just 15 runs. As he walked away, Head fired back: "Mate, you got out before I even came on to bowl".
The tension clearly lingered, as Kohli walked past Head without acknowledging his outstretched hand during the post-match exchange.
Speaking on JioHotstar, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan defended Kohli's usual aggressive approach and on-field banter as a normal part of the game's theatre.
"Yes, I was doing commentary at that time. Look, Virat also likes to play cricket the way the Australians do. Little banter, little aggression, little talk of 'okay, come down and bowl some deliveries.' That's what he was saying, "You are not an Impact Player." Generally, he is an Impact Player, and he goes out of the field. He asked him to bowl, something happened, and he was calling him as well. Look what happened after the game. I am not going to talk much about it. But what happened on the field, it's okay, it happens. You want to play aggressively, you want to wear your heart on the sleeve and that little banter, little aggression," Pathan said.
However, Pathan felt the intentional handshake snub crossed a line. "This could be avoided," he added.
Coming to the match, RCB suffered a 55-run thrashing as their bowling attack struggled to contain SRH’s explosive batting unit.
Ishan Kishan (79 off 46), Abhishek Sharma (56 off 22) and Heinrich Klaasen (51 off 24) all struck fluent half-centuries, propelling the hosts to a mammoth 255/4 in 20 overs.
During the chase, RCB were restricted to 200/4. Although the defending champions fell way short of the target, they breached the 166-run mark to ensure a top finish, thanks to Rajat Patidar’s 39-ball 56 and crucial contributions by Venkatesh Iyer (44 off 19) and Krunal Pandya (41* off 31).
This result means that RCB will face second-placed Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, while SRH await the confirmation of their opponent in the Eliminator.
