Virat Kohli Snubs Travis Head's Handshake After Heated On-Field Exchange — SRH vs RCB, IPL 2026
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
23 May 2026
Virat Kohli walked past an outstretched hand from Travis Head without acknowledgement at the post-match handshake ceremony following Sunrisers Hyderabad's 55-run defeat of Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on 23 May 2026. The snub came after a heated on-field exchange in RCB's chase of a massive 256-run target, during which Kohli, set up by Venkatesh Iyer's blazing start, taunted Head by miming the Impact Player signal and appearing to invite him to come and bowl. Kohli was dismissed for 15 off 11 balls — to a bowler other than Head — and Head's parting line, audible to multiple broadcasters, was: "Mate, you got out before I even came on to bowl." After the match, Kohli shook hands with SRH captain Pat Cummins and Abhishek Sharma but visibly bypassed Head, who was standing in the handshake line with his arm extended. Head's subsequent Instagram story — "Keep the body guessing" — went viral.