What Happened When Virat Kohli And Naveen-ul-Haq Squared Off Last. A Recap

After their heated exchange in the Indian Premier League earlier this year, Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq will be up against each other when India take on Afghanistan in their World Cup 2023 match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday. Kohli and Naveen were involved in a verbal spat during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants on May 1. The incident took place after Kohli asked his RCB bowlers to target Naveen and the other LSG's tail-enders with bouncers.

Naveen didn't like Kohli's suggestion and he confronted Kohli. The matter further escalated after the match during the customary post-match handshakes.

While LSG skipper KL Rahul tried to play mediator between the two, Gautam Gambhir, who is the mentor of the Lucknow-based franchise, intervened and the situation aggravated.

It all kicked off after Gambhir intervened in Kohli's chat with LSG batter Kyle Mayers. Gambhir gave a mouthful to Kohli and told Mayers not to have a chat with him.

Part 2 of the fight unfolds today
Cheeku vs Mango
Virat Kohli vs Naveen
Highlights from part 1#INDvAFG #CWC23 #PAKvsSL pic.twitter.com/T6WwUJA3KN

— AP (@AksP009) October 11, 2023

Players from both sides had to intervene after Kohli and Gambhir were charging at each other in aggression. The heated affair prompted the authorities to hand them hefty fines for breaching the IPL code of conduct.

Virat Kohli and Gambhir Fight in IPL Match in
RCB vs LSG game Full video pic.twitter.com/hKbi0aOJ4Y

— inayat arfin (@inayatarfin1) May 1, 2023

Naveen later blamed Kohli for the controversy, claiming that the former India and RCB captain started the fight.

"He (Kohli) shouldn't have said all those things during the match and after it. I didn't start the fight. After the match, when we were shaking hands, Virat Kohli started the fight. I just want to say one thing I generally don't sledge anyone, and even if I do it I would say it to the batters only when I am bowling because I am a bowler. In that match, I didn't utter a single word. I didn't sledge anyone," Naveen told BBC Pashto in an interview.

"Players who were there, they know how I dealt with the situation. I never lost my temper, when I was batting or after the match. What I did after the match can be seen by everyone. I was just shaking hands and then he (Kohli) caught my hand forcefully and I am also a human being and I reacted," he added.

Prior to the World Cup, Naveen had announced that he would retire from ODIs after the tournament in India.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Afghanistan Virat Kohli Naveen-ul-Haq World Cup 2023 Cricket