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NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has strongly condemned online abuse directed at players’ families after Travis Head’s wife Jessica revealed that their close friends and relatives were targeted with hateful messages following the Australian batter’s recent IPL 2026 confrontation with Virat Kohli.The controversy erupted after a heated on-field exchange between Kohli and Head during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad last week. During RCB’s chase, the two star players were seen exchanging words in the middle. While the exact details of the verbal spat remain unclear, tensions appeared to continue after the match as well. Viral visuals showed Head approaching Kohli for a customary handshake, but the former India captain seemingly walked past the Australian opener while greeting other SRH players.The incident quickly exploded across social media platforms, sparking heated debates among fans of both teams.However, the situation escalated further after Jessica Head revealed that online abuse soon spread beyond cricket and began targeting the family’s close circle.“It feels like a repeat of the abuse that happened after the World Cup. I woke up to my socials blasting… we are fine but they are attacking my friends and family,” Jessica told The Advertiser.Reacting to the disturbing trend, Chopra strongly criticised fans for dragging players’ loved ones into sporting rivalries.“People abusing wives… kids… are the lowest form of scumbags,” Chopra wrote on X. “Some might be found under this comment, too. Same lowlifes won’t handle an iota of criticism about themselves or their idols. Hypocrites.”Jessica Head calls for kindness amid growing toxicityJessica also pointed out that similar abuse followed Australia’s victories over India in major ICC tournaments, including the 2023 ODI World Cup final, the World Test Championship final and the 2024 Boxing Day Test.“I think across all sports at the moment there’s an important conversation around mental health, perspective and the way we speak to one another,” she said. “Passion will always be part of sport, but so is remembering there are real people and families behind the game.”The controversy later took an even stranger turn after several fans mistakenly targeted American rapper Travis Scott on social media because of the shared first name with Travis Head.Scott’s Instagram account was flooded with abusive comments linked to the Kohli-Head controversy despite the rapper having no connection whatsoever to cricket or the IPL.The bizarre mix-up once again highlighted the darker side of online fan culture, where outrage and trolling increasingly spill beyond the boundaries of the sport itself.
