Virat Kohli has found himself in fresh controversy after his heated moment with Travis Head during the IPL 2026 clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) went viral.
In this clash, Sunrisers Hyderabad thrashed Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 55 runs to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs, though the defending champions already made it to the Qualifier 1.
Virat Kohli gets involved in heated banter with Travis Head
However, the chatter around Virat Kohli and Travis Head’s on-field banter refuses to die down. The drama started during RCB’s huge chase of 256 when the former Indian captain looked very aggressive at the crease and got involved in banter with the explosive Australian opener.
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Kohli was reportedly teasing Head and asking him to come and bowl. The RCB star also appeared to target Head over his impact player role this season. But Head had the last laugh as Kohli failed to make a big impact with the bat and got out for just 15 runs against SRH.
After Kohli’s wicket, Head reportedly mocked the RCB icon by saying, “Mate, you got out before I even came on to bowl,” and the Indian superstar took his revenge after the match. During the customary handshake, Head came forward and stretched out his hand towards Kohli, but the former RCB captain walked past him even without looking at him.
Irfan Pathan defends Virat Kohli’s aggressive attitude
The SRH opener looked surprised for a second before quietly moving ahead. The video went viral across the social media platforms in no time, and many fans criticized Kohli for the gesture. Many felt that on-field aggression is normal, but players should leave those emotions behind after the game.
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan supported Kohli’s aggressive style on the field. The cricket pundit said that Kohli likes to play with passion, energy, and aggression, just like many Australian cricketers do during big matches.
Irfan Pathan said on JioHotstar, “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.”
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This could be avoided: Irfan Pathan on Virat Kohli's handshaka snub
Pathan also stressed that such banter is common in the game of cricket, and players often try to put pressure on each other during tense situations.
He noted, “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 your sleeve and have that little banter, that little aggression.”
However, the former World Cup winner was not happy with how Kohli handled the situation during the handshake. Pathan signed off by saying, “This could be avoided.”
