'Virat Kohli caught my hand forcefully', Naveen-ul-Haq on verbal spat
In a fresh development, Afghanistan seamer Naveen-ul-Haq targeted Virat Kohli while highlighting the verbal spat between the two during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 encounter. Naveen, who represented Lucknow Super Giants, stated that Royal Challengers Bangalore's Kohli forcefully held the former's hand while shaking hands after the controversy-laden match in May. He believes it was Kohli who "started the fight".
Why does this story matter?
Emotions flared up in match number 43 between LSG and RCB in Lucknow. RCB avenged their loss from the previous fixture between the two sides (in Bengaluru) after defending 126/9. LSG perished for 108. Kohli was involved in several heated exchanges with Naveen in both innings. The span ran through the customary handshake too. Even LSG head coach Gautam Gambhir got into it.
What happened after the match?
The scuffle started during the first innings but got ignited when the players were going through the customary handshake. Naveen and Kohli exchanged volleys, which later snowballed into an argument between him and Gambhir. The duo had to be separated by KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis and others. Gambhir also took away Kyle Mayers, who was seen having a chat with Kohli.
Kohli started the fight: Naveen
"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, Kohli started the fight," Naveen told BBC Pashto in an interview. He added, "I was just shaking hands and then he (Kohli) caught my hand forcefully and I am also a human being, and I reacted."
Kohli, Naveen, and Gambhir were fined
Following the match, both Kohli and Gambhir were fined 100% of their match fees. Naveen, who was also involved in the scuffle, was fined 50% of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of conduct.
The history of controversies
It was not the first time both Naveen and Kohli were embroiled in such an on-field controversy. The former had a similar brawl with Pakistan's Mohammad Amir and Shahid Afridi during a Lanka Premier League match in 2020. On the other hand, Kohli had an altercation with Gambhir during an IPL 2013 match. Rajat Bhatia had to separate the two players.
How the two players fared in IPL 2023
Naveen, playing his maiden IPL season, took 11 wickets from eight matches at an average of 19.91. The tally includes a solitary four-wicket haul. Meanwhile, Kohli was back to his best, having finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer. He smashed 639 runs from 14 matches at an incredible average of 53.25. Kohli completed 7,000 IPL runs and also hammered two centuries during the season.
