Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) may have crushed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 55 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad but the real story wasn’t the scoreboard. It was a moment after the match had ended, one brief exchange, or rather the lack of one, that instantly took over social media and cricket conversations.
As players lined up for the customary handshakes, Virat Kohli warmly greeted Pat Cummins and exchanged smiles with Abhishek Sharma. But when he reached Travis Head, things turned icy. Head extended his hand. Kohli walked past him without even looking.
For most players, it would have been just another tense on-field episode. But with Kohli and Head, the moment carried far more weight because the friction between the two had been building throughout the evening.
Kohli-Head no handshake row: But what exactly happened
It started in the first innings when Head was dismissed for 26. Kohli celebrated aggressively, roaring in trademark fashion as RCB finally removed one of the IPL’s most dangerous openers.
The tension escalated during RCB’s chase. With the required rate climbing rapidly, Kohli appeared to mock Head by gesturing for him to bowl, referencing the Australian opener’s occasional off-spin role. It was classic Kohli, intense, confrontational and fully invested in the contest.
But Head had the last word.
Kohli’s innings ended quickly for 15, and as he walked back, Head reportedly fired a sharp response: “You’re out, mate, before I could even bowl.”
Later, in a twist that almost felt scripted, Head actually did bowl and picked up the wicket of RCB captain Rajat Patidar. After the game, he added another layer to the drama with an Instagram post captioned: “Keep the body guessing.”
Naturally, the handshake snub became the defining image of the night.
What happened after the game should not have happened: Pathan
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan noted during commentary that on-field aggression is part of elite sport, but refusing a handshake afterward clearly showed the emotions had carried beyond the boundary ropes.
“What happened during the game, that can happen in the heat of the moment, but what happened after the game should not have happened,” Pathan, who was one of the commentators, said.
For Indian fans, Head is already a familiar villain. He was the man who broke India’s hearts in both the 2023 World Test Championship final and the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Every time he walks out to bat against India, there is already emotional baggage attached to the contest.
Kohli’s refusal to smooth things over with a polite handshake only intensifies that narrative and while RCB and SRH may get to meet again in the Playoffs, the emotions are likely to spill into India-Australia fixtures especially when Australia tour India early in 2027.