The Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has come up with a startling revelation about the heated altercation he had with India’s former captain Virat Kohli in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Virat and Naveen were in a heated argument during a match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Lucknow’s BRSABV Ekana stadium. The fight between the two even continued outside the cricketing field as they took indirect digs at each other through social media posts and stories.
The Afghan pacer has now opened up about the ugly spat in an interview with BBC Pashto and revealed that it was Virat who instigated the fight. Naveen further went on to cite the fine percentage imposed on Virat as proof of the same.
“He 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. When you will look at the fines, you will understand, who started the fight,” said Naveen.
It is worth mentioning that both Naveen and Virat were punished with fines for misconduct after the match. While the fast bowler was docked 50% of his match fee, the RCB batter paid 100% of his game salary.
In the same conversation, Naveen revealed that he never sledges or takes up fights with anyone upfront, and it was Virat who held his hand forcefully post the match. He finished by saying that what he did was just a reaction to Virat’s behaviour towards him.
“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. Players, who were there they know how I dealt with the situation,” Naveen recalled the incident.
“I never lost my temper, when I was batting or after the match. What I did after the match is can be seen by everyone. I was just shaking hands and then he (Kohli) caught my hand forcefully and I am also human being and I reacted,” he added.
