Virat Kohli found himself at the centre of a sportsmanship debate after he deliberately skipped shaking hands with Travis Head during the post-match line following Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2026 in Hyderabad on Friday.
As the two teams lined up for the customary handshakes, Kohli shook hands with SRH captain Pat Cummins and Abhishek Sharma but walked straight past Head, who had his arm outstretched, before moving on to the next player in line.
The tension between the two had been visible during RCB’s chase as well, with the pair seen exchanging words on the field, though what sparked the exchange remained unclear.
The incident spread quickly on social media, with fans largely turning on Kohli.
Reactions ranged from disappointed to outright mocking. “Performance 0, attitude 100,” wrote one user. Another simply asked, “Sportsmanship??” A third took a sharper dig: “This was not expected from him at this stage of his career.” Others were less charitable. “Bro thinks it is swag,” read one comment, while another quipped, “Galat banda chhed diya.”
On the field, Kohli contributed little with the bat, scoring 15 off 11 balls before falling to Sakib Hussain in the final over of the powerplay. SRH had posted 255 for 4, and RCB, chasing a specific target to secure a top-two finish rather than the two points, ended on 200 for 4.
RCB finished top of the league table and will face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 in Dharamsala on May 26. SRH finished third and will play the Eliminator in New Chandigarh on May 27.
