Kohli refuses Head handshake after heated Hyderabad-Bengaluru clash in IPL

Tempers flared ‌between Virat Kohli and Travis Head in ⁠the Indian ⁠Premier League, as the former India captain refused to shake hands with the Australian ⁠batter after Head’s Sunrisers Hyderabad handed Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru a crushing 55-run defeat.

The two exchanged ⁠heated words when Kohli opened for Bengaluru, looking to chase down a daunting target of 256. During the exchange, a visibly angry Kohli was seen gesturing towards ‌Head to come and bowl.

Kohli also mockingly made the “impact player” substitution gesture, a reference to Head, who is primarily a batter, often being replaced by Hyderabad for a specialist bowler after the Australian finishes batting.

Head did not have much ⁠time to take Kohli up on ⁠his invite, as the Bengaluru opener fell soon after, scoring 15 off 11 balls. The Australian, however, bowled an over later ⁠in the game and dismissed Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar.

As the teams lined ⁠up to shake hands after ⁠the match, Head held out his hand but Kohli looked straight ahead and walked past him.

Friday’s win left third-placed Hyderabad on ‌equal points with Bengaluru, but Kohli’s side remained top of the table with a superior net run ‌rate. ‌Both teams have qualified for the IPL playoffs starting Wednesday.