With the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 rapidly approaching its end, one of the biggest highlights of the season has been the argument between Virat Kohli and Lucknow Super Giants pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, which took the internet by storm. Both players were involved in a heated argument back when Royal Challengers Bangalore took on Lucknow in the 43rd game of the competition on May 1.
After Bangalore won the game by 18 runs, Kohli and Naveen were seen getting involved in a heated argument. Furthermore, Kohli got into an argument with Lucknow mentor Gautam Gambhir as well. The repercussions of the incident are still being felt, with many fans trolling both Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq and even hurling abuse at them on social media.
Recently, Naveen was again in the limelight after a brilliant performance against Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator of the IPL 2023. After taking four wickets and conceding 38 runs in four overs, the 23-year-old celebrated by putting his fingers on his ears as a way of shutting out outside noise. However, his spell was in vain, as Mumbai eventually defeated Lucknow to eliminate them from the tournament.
Furthermore, after the game, there was an account on Twitter named ‘@naveenulhaq66’ that posted an apology towards Virat Kohli, even tagging the Indian batter in the tweet. However, as news of his apology grabbed headlines, the Afghanistan pacer was quick to clarify the situation.
Taking to his Instagram story, Naveen denied ever apologising to Kohli and opined that people should be beware of fake accounts. Posting a screenshot of the account, he wrote, “Form (from) this fake account; whoever has gotten messages, please report it, thanks.”
Following the story, the ‘fake’ account has been suspended from Twitter. He also recently reflected on fans chanting Kohli’s name when Lucknow took on Mumbai. He opined that he did not concentrate on the chants and only focused on what he needed to do on the pitch.