Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq decided to bury the hatchet and hug it out during the ICC World Cup league stage meeting between India and Afghanistan in New Delhi on Wednesday.
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Indian batting star Kohli and Afghan seamer Naveen had been involved in a heated exchange in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on 1 May.
LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir too was involved in the spat, getting into a face-off with RCB superstar Kohli after the game, and things escalated to the point where Naveen was taking potshots at Kohli on social media, including when RCB had been knocked out of the race to the playoffs by Mumbai Indians.
In Wednesday’s clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, however, the two players decided to call a truce and shake hands to bring to an end the bad blood that existed between them.
On Wednesday, chants of ‘Kohli Kohli’ welcomed Naveen when he came into the bowl. During India’s chase of 273, the two players were seen enjoying a lighter movement. For Naveen, the matter never went beyond the boundary ropes.
Watch: Fans troll Naveen with ‘Kohli’ chants during IND-AFG World Cup match
“Crowd will chant for their home cricketers and that is what they did. It is his (Kohli’s) home ground. He is a nice guy, a good player and we shook hands.
“It (what happened) was always in the ground, it was nothing outside the ground. People make it big. They need that stuff for their followers. He said (today) ‘we are done with that and I said yes we are done with that. We shook hands and hugged,” Naveen told PTI.
Virat 🤝 Naveen
In the King’s realm, grudges find no place 🫂
📸: Star Sports#PlayBold #INDvAFG #TeamIndia #IndianCricket #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/DrmlVzaxqy
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) October 11, 2023
India would go on to register a thumping eight-wicket win, powered by captain Rohit Sharma’s blazing 131 off just 84 deliveries. Rohit broke several records en route to his 31st ODI ton, including most hundreds in World Cup that previously belonged to Sachin Tendulkar (6) and Kapil Dev’s record for the fastest World Cup hundred by an Indian.
IND vs AFG Stats: Rohit Sharma smashes multiple records with fiery 131
The victory propelled India to the second spot on the ICC World Cup points table, with the Men in Blue having won both of their matches so far ahead of their marquee clash against Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The 24-year-old has only played nine ODIs and he plans to retire from the format following the World Cup.
Talking about his retirement plans, Naveen said: “To be honest more international bowlers will opt out of ODI cricket because there is not much balance between bat and ball. I wish I would have played more ODI cricket but it is what it is.”
With inputs from PTI
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