TATA Indian Premier League 2023 was one of the best seasons the fans saw for a long time. The entire season was filled with suspense till the last ball was bowled. Chennai Super Kings ultimately took the bragging rights, as they won the title by beating the 2022 champions Gujarat Titans in the last ball of the game. The season also saw many moments where a few incidents will be spoken about for years to come.
The story so far –
1st May, 2023 saw the IPL 2023 game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants. The two teams already have an history with each other. The low scoring game came to an head when Virat Kohli was seen to having heated conversations with various members of the Lucknow Super Giants team, including its mentor Gautam Gambhir.
Naveen UL Haq says Kohli started the fight –
One of the main people in the entire incident that happened was Afghanistan pacer Naveen Ul Haq. The right arm pacer was recently in conversation with BBC’s Pashto outlet. During the course of the chat Naveen accused Virat Kohli of starting the fight.
While speaking to BBC Pashto, Naveen said “ 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. When you will look at the fines, you will understand, who started the fight”
Naveen maintains his innocence –
The Afghanistan pacer on the other hand has continued to say that he wasn’t the one who started the entire incident. Naveen continued “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”
Afghan pacer claims Kohli caught his hand by force –
Post the win for RCB, the focus shifted to the fight as Gautam Gambhir and Kohli had a fierce handshake. Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq were then involved in war of words during the handshake before Glenn Maxwell and others came to diffuse the situation.
Speaking about this to BBC Pashto, the Afghan player said “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,”