Virat Kohli snubs Travis Head's handshake after SRH vs RCB match in IPL 2026

Published - 23 May 2026, 10:21 IST | Updated - 23 May 2026, 10:27 IST

Tensions were high during Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) home game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with Virat Kohli and Travis Head at the centre of the action. This happened during the SRH’s victory over the defending champions in Match 68 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL).

RCB were chasing a mammoth 256 runs in the second innings, and things got heated fairly quickly in the run chase. Both Kohli and Head had a verbal exchange on the field, which was not the end of both players’ confrontation in the evening.

After the game, when the Royal Challengers suffered a 55-run defeat, Kohli and the rest of the team went to shake hands with the winners, as is customary at the end of all cricket matches. However, when both protagonists came face-to-face, the Indian batter completely ignored the left-handed opening batter, to his surprise.

It is worth mentioning that Kohli did not have the best of times against SRH on Friday. The 37-year-old scored just 15 runs off 11 balls before falling to Sakib Hussain. The former RCB captain was visibly seen angry and frustrated after the game on the broadcast.

Despite RCB’s heavy defeat in Hyderabad, Rajat Patidar’s side have still finished first in the points standings and have booked their place in Qualifier 1, giving them two opportunities to make it through to the showpiece final in Ahmedabad on May 31.

The top three have all ended their league phase with 18 points from 14 matches. SRH, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on a place in Qualifier 1. The 2016 champions finished third, with their net run-rate being just 0.171 off second-placed Gujarat Titans. This means that Pat Cummins’ side will now play the first Eliminator, facing one of the Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, or Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday, May 27.

Virat Kohli engages in fiery banter with Travis Head

RCB, on the other hand, will take on GT in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday, May 26.