Travis Head’s wife Jessica has spoken out after facing a wave of online harassment following an on field exchange between her husband and Indian cricket star Virat Kohli during an Indian Premier League match.
The incident took place during the match between Travis Head’s Sunrisers Hyderabad and Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.
The two players exchanged heated words during the game before Kohli was dismissed for 15 runs and Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered a 55 run defeat.
During the post match handshakes Kohli ignored Travis Head’s extended hand while greeting other players on the field.
After the match the Instagram accounts of both Travis Head and Jessica were flooded with abusive comments reportedly from supporters of the former Indian captain.
Jessica revealed that the online abuse also affected her close relatives and friends who received hateful private messages.
She said: ‘I woke up to my socials blasting… we are fine but they are attacking my friends and family.’ Jessica added: ‘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.’
She also compared the current situation to the online abuse faced after the 2023 ODI World Cup final when Australia defeated India in Ahmedabad.
Jessica said the latest incident felt like ‘a repeat of the abuse that happened after the World Cup.’
