‘Virat Kohli Started The Fight’, Naveen-ul-Haq Makes EXPLOSIVE Statement On Onfield Feud During IPL 2023

IPL 2023 saw an onfield feud between India batter Virat Kohli and Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. That spat took place during Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Gautam Gambhir got himself involved into the contest. Even after the onfield feud, the cold war continued between Gambhir, Naveen and Virat as they posted Instagram stories to take indirect digs at each other. Even more than a month after the clash, no one knows what led to the fight between the fued between the cricketers. In a recent interview to BBC Pashto, Naveen may have give a little hint.

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Naveen said that it was not him who started the fight during the hand-shaking ritual He blamed Kohli for starting the fight, saying he did not even sledge anyone in the match. “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 said.

Naveen said that he never lost his temper during the match and that he does not badmouth anyone. He added that when others did that to him, he does not stay silent. “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) grabbed my hand forcefully and I am also a human being and I reacted.

“When you will look at the fines you will understand who started the fight. If someone is saying something to me I won’t back off. I have had it since I started playing the U-16 for Afghanistan. I never badmouth anyone but if anyone does that to me I don’t stay silent. I give it back. You can call it wrong but that’s how it is,” he said.

Naveen added that he plays every cricket match, whether at club level or international match, with the same intensity. “Be it a young player from the opposition or a senior team member, be it in a club match, playing for Afghanistan, or in the IPL, I play the cricket match with the same intensity and I would back off when someone says something to me.”