Australia batter Travis Head, who represented the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 edition, on Friday, finally broke his silence on his feud with Virat Kohli after the fixture against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) earlier this season. The incident occurred at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, where cameras caught Kohli snubbing Head and not shaking hands as part of the customary post-match greetings.
However, Head did not reveal exactly what happened between the two during the match, and he simply stated that there's nothing to patch with Kohli and that incidents like these are part and parcel of the sport.
“I don't think there's anything to patch over,” Head told Code Sports.
“That's just that's what it is. That's yeah. No surprises with how the competition went or what went on. So as expected,” he added.
The controversy began after the match when television cameras appeared to show Kohli walking past Head without offering a handshake during the customary post-match greetings.
{{/usCountry}}The controversy began after the match when television cameras appeared to show Kohli walking past Head without offering a handshake during the customary post-match greetings.
{{/usCountry}}The footage sparked widespread speculation, with many fans interpreting the gesture as evidence of lingering tension between the two star cricketers. The contest in Hyderabad did see Head exchanging a few words with Kohli when the latter was batting, but no one knew that the situation would escalate to such a point where Kohli would avoid shaking hands with Head.
Head's wife deals with abuse on social media
The online reaction to the controversy extended beyond the players themselves. Head's wife, Jessica Davies, came out in public to reveal that she was being abused on social media. She had stated that the situation was emotionally draining and distressing for her and her entire family.
Head has now also addressed the same; however, he downplayed the controversy, saying that dealing with public scrutiny is part of professional sport, but admitted that the abuse affected people around him who were not accustomed to such attention.
“I think Jessica and I have a great perspective on things. That's the world we live in, and I think she's amazing in how she handles that kind of stuff. It was more the family stuff was built around it, flowing on to other family members who don't particularly see that sort of stuff,” said Head.
“Everyone forgets about it in a few days' time. She handled it extremely well. It's probably handling it with others and what other people's perspective of what things are like,” he added.
Speaking of the IPL 2026 edition, RCB defended their title after beating the Gujarat Titans in the final while the Sunrisers Hyderabad made it to the Eliminator but crashed out of the tournament following the loss against the Rajasthan Royals.