Virat Kohli (L) and Naveen-ul-Haq during IPL 2023© Twitter
The on-field spat between Naveen-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 grabbed headlines for quite some time. Experts had their own opinions about what happened during the match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore while fans tried to find some hidden meaning in the social media activities of both cricketers. Naveen opened up recently about the incident and said that the fight was started by Kohli after the encounter and cited the punishments handed out to the two cricketers as the proof.
“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,” he told BBC Pashto.
“When you will look at the fines, you will understand, who started the fight,” he added.
While Kohli was docked his entire match fees, Naveen was fined half of it. In the interaction, the fast bowler also said that he does not sledge unless instigated by any opponent.
“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.”
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 said in the interview when asked about the incident.
Topics mentioned in this article