The on-field feud between Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Virat Kohli and Lucknow Super Giants pacer Naveen-ul-Haq became one of the major highlights of IPL 2023. Both players got into a heated argument during their IPL match on May 1 in Lucknow. The incident snowballed into a huge controversy as both cricketers took their altercation to the next level in the customary post-match handshake and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir was also seen fuming on the field. However, all tensions between the two players came to an end when they faced each other during the ODI World Cup 2023 match between India and Afghanistan in Delhi in October.
Virat and Naveen were seen hugging each other and settling their differences. This turned out to be a memorable moment for all fans.
Recently, Naveen talked about that day and revealed how they met during the match and resolved the issues between them.
“Rohit bhai ka wicket gira aur drinks break hua. Drink break khatam ho ke mai jaa raha tha long-on par fielding karne. So I was about to pass (Kohli), and hamara ek eye contact hua, Virat ne bola ki 'let's finish it', toh maine bola 'Yes, let's finish it.' Unke dil mein kuch nahi tha, purely dil mein bhi unke liye of course kuch nahi tha. Jo hua tha grounded me hua tha. I respect him as a player. Vo jitna kar chuke hai aur jitna kar rahe hai abhi, so we should all appreciate and understand that. Untie the bola, let's finish it. We laughed about it. We hugged each other and moved on. (Rohit was sent off and we had a drinks break. Then I went towards the long-on and when I saw Kohli we had eye contact. He said 'let's finish it' so I said 'Yes, let's finish it. 'Neither he had anything in his heart, nor did I.)” Naveen said in a video posted on YouTube by LSG.
“He said you won't hear my name again after this or something. You only get support from the public. I said yes. Then he wanted to tell the crowd or signal the crowd not to chant my name. So that was it,” he added.
Recently, LSG announced their retention list ahead of the mini-auctions for IPL 2024 and the franchise has retained Naveen for the upcoming season.
After the 2023 ODI World Cup, pacer Naveen has retired from the format with just 15 matches and 22 wickets to his name.
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