Travis Head has broken his silence on the Virat Kohli handshake incident from IPL 2026, revealing for the first time that Kohli challenged him to bowl during the match, and that his own reply after Kohli’s dismissal was what directly triggered the post-match snub.
Speaking on “All Over Bar The Cricket” on July 24, 2026, Head said:
“During the match, Virat told me, ‘If you’ll bowl to me, I’ll hit you for sixes and boundary.’ A few overs later, he got out and I just said you got out, I was coming, and some words with him in the heat of the moment.”
Travis Head, “All Over Bar The Cricket,” July 24, 2026
Travis Head on Virat Kohli no handshake incident🚨
Head 🗣️ : During the match, Virat told me, ‘If you’ll bowl to me, I’ll hit you for sixes and boundary. A few overs later, he got out and I just said you got out i was coming and some words with him in the heat of the… pic.twitter.com/jrn89V1hjZ
— Achyut Mishra (@PulledFor_Six) July 24, 2026
The incident happened on May 22 during SRH’s match against RCB in Hyderabad. SRH set a big total and RCB chased 256. When Kohli came in to bat in the second innings, Head was in the field. Head was chirping from the outfield, and Kohli turned it back on him by mimicking the “Impact Player” substitution gesture. It was a pointed taunt, a reference to SRH’s practice of deploying Head purely as a batter before replacing him with a specialist bowler for the fielding phase. The message was clear: you can talk from the outfield because you never have to actually bowl.
Kohli had already celebrated animatedly in the field when Head was dismissed for 26 in the first innings. The two had been at each other for the full match before the second-innings exchange began.
What Head Said When Kohli Got Out
The confrontation reached its sharpest point when Kohli fell for 15 off 11 balls to Sakib Hussain. As he walked back, Head told him: you got out, I was coming to bowl. Head did bowl one over after that and dismissed RCB captain Rajat Patidar, but Kohli was already back in the dugout by then. He never faced a delivery from Head.
#ViratKohli 🆚 #TravisHead 🥵🤯
Tensions rise in high voltage clash🔥#TATAIPL Race to Playoffs 2026 👉 #SRHvRCB | LIVE NOW ➡️https://t.co/52qPTW2gSO pic.twitter.com/JOiWaxNW6T
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 22, 2026
After SRH’s 55-run win, the teams lined up for the post-match handshake. Kohli shook hands with Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan. When Head extended his hand, Kohli looked straight ahead and walked past.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, on Star Sports commentary, backed Kohli’s on-field intensity but drew a line at what followed:
“Virat Kohli has always enjoyed playing cricket with that aggressive Australian-style intensity, a bit of banter, competitiveness, and emotion on the field. These kinds of exchanges are quite natural in high-pressure games.”
Irfan Pathan, Star Sports commentary, May 22, 2026
“This could be avoided,” Pathan added, speaking specifically about the no-handshake.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh sided with Kohli:
“Yeah, we don’t know what happened. We only saw what was shown on TV. Maybe Travis Head may have teased him and after that, Virat Kohli was also seen saying something to him. As a result, Kohli is not happy with him, which is why he did not shake hands with Head.”
Harbhajan Singh, Star Sports post-match show, May 22, 2026
Kohli has not made any public statement on the incident. His most recent public cricket moment before this story resurfaced was his innings at Lord’s during India’s England tour in July. Head’s “All Over Bar The Cricket” interview is the first time either player has given a direct account of what was said on the field.
Insider Read:
Kohli’s Impact Player gesture was a specific dig at the T20 format itself, not just at Head personally. The taunt said: you show up, bat, and then get swapped out. You chirp from the outfield because the format never asks you to do the harder thing.
But Head answered that on the field in the same match.
He came on to bowl, took one over, and dismissed RCB captain Rajat Patidar. Kohli’s gesture said Head never bowls when pressure is highest. The match said otherwise.
And when Kohli was dismissed for 15 before Head had a chance to bowl at him, Head answered the personal challenge too. Both things were true in the same innings: he bowled and took a wicket, and Kohli got out before facing him. Head answered the format challenge with the ball and the personal challenge with four words.
The no-handshake at the end was Kohli walking away from a player who had answered him twice. Once with the ball. Once with “I was coming.”
In the days after the match, Travis Head’s wife Jessica spoke to Australian media about online abuse received by the family. She said it felt like “a repeat of the abuse that happened after the World Cup,” with hateful messages sent not only to them but to their friends and family. Head posted a cryptic Instagram story on the night of the match reading “Keep the body guessing,” which many interpreted as a response to Kohli’s no-handshake.
Head shared his account on “All Over Bar The Cricket” on July 24, 2026. The clip was posted on X by verified cricket journalist Achyut Mishra (@PulledFor_Six). Kohli has not commented at time of publication
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