Cricket-Kohli refuses handshake with Head after heated verbal spat during IPL clash

Tempers flared between Virat Kohli ​and Travis Head in the ​Indian Premier League, as ‌the former ​Indian 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.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)