Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 23 (ANI): Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan said that Virat Kohli brings an 'Australian-style intensity' to the game after the legendary batter was involved in a heated on-field exchange with Travis Head during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Friday.

The incident escalated further when Kohli did not shake hands with Head during the customary post-match handshakes.

During RCB's chase against SRH, Kohli was seen having words with Head. While it was not clear what the players said to each other, Kohli looked animated.

Speaking on JioHostar, JioStar expert Irfan Pathan said that Kohli thrives on aggressive, high-intensity cricket and that his on-field exchange with Head was a natural outcome of competitive spirit, describing it as normal banter in a high-pressure IPL match.

'Virat Kohli has always enjoyed playing cricket with that aggressive Australian-style intensity, a bit of banter, competitiveness, and emotion on the field. During that moment, he was asking Travis Head to come on and bowl a few deliveries instead of remaining off the field as an impact substitute. These kinds of exchanges are quite natural in high-pressure games, especially when both teams are competing for crucial positions on the points table. In the end, it was simply part of the intensity and competitive spirit that comes with top-level cricket,' he said.

After SRH won the match, Kohli appeared not to choose to shake Head's hand during the post-match handshakes. As both teams lined up for the customary post-match handshakes, Kohli exchanged greetings with SRH captain Pat Cummins and Abhishek Sharma but appeared to ignore Head, who had already extended his hand, before moving on to the next player.

Coming to the SRH vs RCB clash, Pat Cummins-led side, while batting first, posted a massive 255/4, powered by explosive half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (79), Abhishek Sharma (56) and Heinrich Klaasen (51).

Nitish Kumar Reddy also provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 29.

In reply, RCB started aggressively through Venkatesh Iyer (44 off 19 balls), but regular wickets halted their chase. Rajat Patidar scored 56 while Krunal Pandya remained unbeaten on 41, but RCB finished at 200/4. Eshan Malinga starred with the ball for SRH, taking 2/33 in a dominant victory. (ANI)