IPL 2026: Venkatesh Iyer discloses the reality behind Virat Kohli-Travis Head handshake controversy

During the IPL 2026 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on May 22, a peculiar incident took place involving Virat Kohli and Travis Head. A heated exchange occurred between the two seasoned players while RCB was batting, and Kohli did not even shake hands with Head after the match was concluded.

Recently, during a podcast, Venkatesh Iyer—who was Kohli's opening partner that day—broke his silence on the incident and provided full details of the event. Iyer admitted that, to be honest, he had no idea what was going on. He noticed that even when the batters met to shake gloves between overs, there wasn't much conversation taking place that day.

"Let me tell you something honestly. I had no clue what was happening. I noticed that when I hit a four and went to speak to Virat, he wouldn't even look at me. I thought, 'I'm playing quite well.' I assumed perhaps he just didn't talk much," Iyer said. 

Venkatesh Iyer added that he only learned after the match that the two players hadn't shaken hands, speculating that the tension might have stemmed from some past issue or incident between them.

"Later, someone told me they hadn't shaken hands. I asked 'Why?', and they said they didn't know either—it just happened. India and Australia have a long history, so I thought it might be something from the past," Iyer continued. 

Ultimately, RCB defeated SRH in that match and went on to win their second IPL title. Venkatesh Iyer was acquired by the 2-time reigning champion for 7 crore INR. He was included as a back-up player, but after Philip Salt’s injury and Jacob Bethell’s poor form, he was included in the playing XI as an opener and also as a middle order batter. He amassed 209 runs in 7 innings, with a strike rate of 186.61. His highest cricket score of the season came against Punjab Kings, when he scored an unbeaten 73 runs off 40 balls. 

Upon joining the team, Iyer provided a solid and brisk start, instantly injecting momentum. Meanwhile, in the middle order, Venky ensured the scoring rate didn't drop thanks to his explosive batting and delivered powerful finishes. Iyer could well be retained by RCB once again for IPL 2027.