Travis Head’s wife Jessica has spoken out after receiving a wave of online abuse following a heated on-field exchange between her husband and Virat Kohli during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match.
The two players clashed during the match between Head’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Friday.
Heated words were exchanged between the pair before Kohli was dismissed for 15 and his team slumped to a 55-run defeat. During the post-match handshakes, Kohli ignored Head’s outstretched hand but shook hands with the other players.
Following the match, the Instagram accounts of both Head and Jessica were flooded with abusive comments, apparently from fans of the former India captain.
Jessica told a media outlet that her friends and family had also received hateful private messages.
“I woke up to my socials blasting… we are fine but they are attacking my friends and family,” she said. “Passion will always be part of sport, but so is remembering there are real people and families behind the game. Hopefully this encourages more kindness, and support for one another.”
Jessica also drew a parallel with a previous episode of online abuse. She said the situation felt like “a repeat of the abuse that happened after the World Cup,” referring to the 2023 50-over tournament when Australia beat hosts India in the final in Ahmedabad.
