Royal Challengers Bengaluru star Virat Kohli found himself at the centre of attention after an awkward post-match moment involving Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Travis Head during their IPL 2026 clash on Friday night. SRH defeated RCB by 55 runs in a high-scoring contest, but much of the discussion after the game revolved around the apparent tension between the two players.

The incident took place during the customary post-match handshake line. As players from both teams exchanged greetings, Kohli was seen shaking hands with several SRH members before seemingly walking past Travis Head, who had extended his hand. The moment quickly went viral across social media platforms and triggered mixed reactions among cricket fans.

Many supporters linked the incident to an earlier heated exchange between Kohli and Head during the Powerplay. The two batters were involved in an animated verbal interaction on the field, adding extra intensity to the contest in Hyderabad.

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While some fans criticised Kohli for appearing to ignore Head during the handshake, others defended the former RCB captain and suggested the on-field confrontation may have contributed to the reaction after the match.

Virat Kohli has previously been involved in several high-profile confrontations during the IPL. One of the most talked-about incidents came in the 2023 season when Kohli clashed with former India teammate Gautam Gambhir following a heated encounter between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Lucknow Super Giants.

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That altercation escalated significantly after the game, eventually forcing players and support staff to intervene. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) later imposed hefty fines on both Kohli and Gambhir for breaching the IPL code of conduct.

Last night incident of Virat Kohli ignoring Travis Head after the match. Now you know the big difference between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The former respects the Spirit of the Game, latter seems to be ignorant of that most important aspect of the game.

— Makarand Waingankar (@wmakarand) May 23, 2026

Virat Kohli को Travis Head से हाथ मिलाना चाहिए था।
क्योंकि Travis Head भारतीय मेहमान है।
वहां आपके देश क्रिकेट खेलने आया है।
अगर यही काम ऑस्ट्रेलिया में विराट कोहली के साथ कोई करे तो क्या होगा। भारतीय संस्कार नहीं है।
Royal Challengers Bengaluru #SRHvsRCB pic.twitter.com/o6yZNaW1GL

— Suneelkumar pathak (@suneelkumarp413) May 22, 2026

Look at the way Travis Head went to shake hands with Virat Kohli, but Kohli did not shake hands with him back. Seriously, what happened between them? 👀

I have always seen both of them sharing a good bond during international cricket and even in the IPL. pic.twitter.com/lTrCYyIL20

— Sonu (@Cricket_live247) May 23, 2026

The Smith-Kohli friendship alone proves Kohli doesn’t hold grudges over simple on field banters so either Head said something extremely personal or something happened off field. pic.twitter.com/Mr4ckMvkO2

— Dive (@crickohliic) May 23, 2026

Lmao seeing people here and on Reddit calling Kohli a hypocrite saying “he started it and can’t take it back“ while completely ignoring the clips where Travis Head literally initiated the poking first and kept chirping again and again. pic.twitter.com/K9POqkLOCn

— Void (@ViratKohly) May 22, 2026