Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq recently recalled the significant incidents that took place during and after the second match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 2023 IPL season.
As the match seemed to be leaning towards a comfortable victory for RCB, tensions escalated on the field, involving Virat Kohli, Mohammed Siraj, and Naveen-ul-Haq. Even during the post-match handshakes after RCB’s eventual 18-run triumph, the situation took an unpleasant turn, with Kohli and Gautam Gambhir engaged in a heated exchange.
While having an interaction with Zalmi TV, Naveen-ul-Haq said, “I think I went out to bat at No. 9 or 10 and we had pretty much lost the game by then. I didn’t expect that I would be sledged. But when it happens, like I said, when someone starts, I can’t hold back. After the game, things continued during the handshake too. The sledging came from two guys – Kohli and Mohammed Siraj.”
Naveen-ul-Haq also highlighted how the closely contested finish in the previous match between the two teams, which ended with LSG securing a one-wicket victory, played a significant role in influencing the events of the subsequent encounter.
“We went to play our away match in Bengaluru. That’s where it all started. We won that game – it was very close – so one of our players [Avesh Khan] threw the helmet in excitement after scoring the winning runs. Virat Kohli probably didn’t like it,” said Naveen.
