Published: May 03, 2023, 07:03 PM (IST)
Edited: May 03, 2023, 07:29 PM (IST)
Lucknow: Virat Kohli and Afghan pacer Naveen Ul Haq got into an altercation during LSG vs RCB match at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Tempers flared between the two teams as LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir also got involved in a heated exchange with Naveen Ul Haq. The Afghan pacer has had a history of on-field fights, with him being involved with altercations previously with Shahid Afridi and Thisara Perera in Lanka Premier League.
Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi has reacted to the Virat Kohli-Naveen ul Haq saga, putting his weight behind Naveen ul Haq and saying that the Afghan pacer only reacts if someone pokes him. “Naveen only reacts when someone bugs him unnecessarily. I have seen him bowling often, he gets hammered as well, but he never tried to pick up fights with anyone. I can’t recall if I have ever seen him this much aggressive”, Afridi said as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Shahid Afridi About #NaveenUlHaq pic.twitter.com/DZwqkR8HFN
— Ahtasham Riaz ?? (@AhtashamRiaz_) May 2, 2023
Afridi further said that fast bowlers have a natural trait of being aggressive. “Every team has a certain ratio of aggressive players, we do too, and it’s normal. It happens. Fast bowlers are innately like that”, he further added.
After the match, KL Rahul tried to mend things between the Afghan pacer and Virat Kohli but Naveen walked away without talking to Virat Kohli. Later, he posted a cryptic Instagram story and wrote, “You get what you deserve. That’s how it should be and that’s how it goes.”
Naveen also told his teammates that he is not going to take abuse from anyone, even if it isfrom Virat Kohli. “I have come here to play in the IPL, not to take abuse from anyone,” Naveen told one of his teammates as quoted by IndianExpress.
