"In the ODI World Cup, it finished once and for all"- Naveen-ul-Haq opens up on his exchange with Virat Kohli
Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq has claimed that everything is fine between him and star Indian batter Virat Kohli despite their heated altercation in IPL 2023. The duo had a go at each other during an IPL 2023 game between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and it continued beyond the match too when the two teams were shaking hands.
However, Kohli and Naveen shared a light moment during the 2023 World Cup game between India and Afghanistan in Delhi and the pacer clarified that the duo had buried their differences. He felt the altercation was just in the heat of the moment and that it was nothing personal.
Speaking in a video posted by the Texas Super Kings, here's what Naveen-ul-Haq said about Virat Kohli:
"It was in the heat of the moment. He was representing his franchise, I was playing for my franchise, If it is for my franchise or for my country, I will give it all. I won't back down. At the end of the day we are all players and some of us are close friends, some of us are colleagues. We just brush it out and there's nothing personal. In the ODI World Cup, it finished once and for all."
Naveen-ul-Haq feels that social media continues to give air to the altercation for engagement and claimed the pair have long moved on from the topic.
Amit Mishra doesn't think Naveen-ul-Haq will respect Virat Kohli again
Veteran Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra was with LSG when the altercation between Naveen-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli took place. He feels that while the two cricketers have been vocal about having moved on, Naveen will not respect Kohli ever again.
Here's what Mishra said on Shubhankar Mishra's YouTube podcast 'Unplugged':
"For social media, it all seemed to be over between them. But do you think Naveen will respect Kohli ever again? What about the youngsters who saw the incident where a big star was abusing others."
Mishra claimed that when he tried to tell Kohli to go easy on Naveen, the star batter replied by saying it was Naveen who needed to behave and not him.