During the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, a match was played between the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). A heated incident occurred between Virat Kohli and Travis Head. The two were seen sledging each other during the match. The Orange Army won the match at their home venue by 55 runs.
The incident escalated after Virat Kohli and RCB celebrated in an aggressive fashion when Travis Head was dismissed for 26. As the game went on during the second innings, while Virat was batting. This happened as Head asked Virat Kohli to hit some big shots in the game, to which Kohli gave a reply to the opener.
What happened between Travis Head and Virat Kohli?
But Head did not reply at that moment while the former India captain was making impact rule gestures towards him and challenged him by saying to come and bowl “a few deliveries.” However, the banter came to haunt the India cricketer as he was soon dismissed, scoring just 15 runs from 11 balls.
Travis Head replied to Virat Kohli, “Mate, you got out before I even came on to bowl.” This turned things into heated moments as after SRH won the game, the two teams lined up for the usual handshakes. Kohli greeted Pat Cummins and other Orange Army cricketers normally. But things became awkward when Head came forward, as he ignored the Southpaw and went ahead.
Mitchell Johnson takes his stance on Head-Kohli controversy
After this incident, several former cricketers and cricketers-turned-commentators have shared their views, the most recent being former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson, who shared his opinion in his column for The West Australian. The former speedster started saying, "There’s always noise around incidents involving Virat Kohli."
"That comes with the territory when you’re one of the biggest names in cricket. But the fallout from his recent interaction with Travis Head matters for a bigger reason than who said what in the heat of battle."
Not shake hands speaks volumes to me - Mitchell Johnson
Johnson has criticized Virat Kohli for not shaking hands due to the stature of a player like him, as he has been the face of Indian Cricket for over a decade and a global icon of the game, which has come as a shocker as it affects the sportsmanship, and also hurts the young cricketers who idolize the former India captain.
"Ultimately, I don’t think the who said this or did that really matters. What matters is what people see. For someone in Virat’s position as a global superstar, to walk past another player who has his hand outstretched at the end of a match and not shake hands speaks volumes to me."
"More importantly, it sends a message to the tens of millions of fans and young aspiring cricketers watching around the world that this behaviour somehow falls under “sportsmanship”. It doesn’t."
Virat would have reacted the same way had his side won the match - Mitchell Johnson
Johnson went back to the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, citing the example of the cold handshake between then Aussie captain Tim Paine and then team India captain Virat Kohli after the Kangaroos won the game by 146 runs at Perth, as the incident started after several exchanges of words during the course of the match and ended in a cold moment.
"And this isn’t the first time we’ve seen moments like this either. His frosty handshake with Tim Paine in Perth in 2018 comes to mind and that’s just not how things should be between two Test captains after a match."
"You do wonder whether Virat would have reacted the same way had his side won the match. Would we still have seen him walk past without shaking hands? Maybe, maybe not. But either way, it tells you plenty and that’s the point.
"When you’re one of the most recognisable athletes in the cricket world, people watch everything you do. And Virat would also know better than most how fiercely loyal his fan base is. That loyalty is part of what has made him such a giant of the game."
"With that influence also comes with responsibility. Given the way this situation escalated online, he had the opportunity to squash it immediately with one simple gesture, shake hands and move on."
"If you’re willing to dish it out, you have to accept there’ll be moments where pressure comes back at you. No one player is bigger than the game. Where things really crossed the line, though, was the abuse directed at Head’s family. It was disgusting."
"And to be honest, Travis shouldn’t be receiving that level of abuse either. But this is the brave new world we live in, where people hide behind screens and think social media gives their opinion real value or importance."
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