“Gautam Gambhir got carried away,” Naveen-ul-Haq recounts spat with Virat Kohli during 2023 IPL 

Naveen-ul-Haq claimed Gautam Gambhir's shushing the RCB fans started the feud.

“Gautam Gambhir got carried away,” Naveen-ul-Haq recounts spat with Virat Kohli during 2023 IPL 

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir in the 2023 IPL (Image via ESPN)

When Royal Challengers Bangalore beat the Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium in the 2023 IPL, all hell broke loose. A fight began between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir. During the match, the Indian star had a spat with Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq as well. 

Months later, Naveen recounted the fight in an interview with Pakistan media house Zalmi TV. The pacer gave the context behind the fight, remembering the close match between RCB and LSG at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Avesh Khan threw his helmet on the ground after the game was won. This did not make Kohli happy, according to Naveen.

YouTube video

In the return fixture at the Ekana Stadium, things got heated. Naveen said when he came in to bat, he was sledged by Kohli and Mohammed Siraj, but it got worse after the handshakes. When asked about Gambhir’s fight with Kohli, the pacer said it happened because Gambhir shushed the Chinnaswamy crowd. 

Gautam Gambhir got carried away [with the shush gesture] because in the previous game, when we needed 1 off 1, one of their bowlers wanted to run the non-striker out while running in to bowl. It was the last wicket. It got heated because the bowler missed taking the bails off.
Naveen-ul-Haq to Zalmi TV

Naveen referenced the time Harshal Patel attempted to mankad Ravi Bishnoi on the final ball of the match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Naveen and Kohli have now patched up, ending their feud during the 2023 ODI World Cup. 

Agha Salman reveals he texted Virat Kohli after he fought with Gautam Gambhir 

Pakistan cricketer, Imam-ul-Haq, once revealed on a talk show that Salman Agha had texted Virat Kohli after his fight with Naveen-ul-Haq and Gautam Gambhir. The Pakistani all-rounder had written “Kohli bacche, easy ho ja (Kohli bussy, calm down)”. 

Agha Salman Virat Kohli
Agha Salman had texted Virat Kohli after his fight with Gautam Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq (Images via ESPN)

When asked about it by his PSL franchise, Islamabad United, Salman said he had written it to Kohli, but didn’t mean any disrespect. He revealed that his teammate, Shadab Khan, told Kohli about the message during the 2023 Asia Cup, which got the Indian star bursting in laughter.

When he fought with Gambhir, it was the kind of incident that began in a very heated manner but gradually picked up a funny tone about it. Those who were watching must have said, 'What the heck is going on?' Then I messaged him jokingly and told Shadab about it. Shadab being Shadab told Kohli about it during their interaction and Kohli couldn't stop laughing. He said he will go to his DMs and post a screenshot of the message sent to him. It was a hilarious incident.
Salman Agha to Islamabad United

Kohli said he will check the message once. The Indian star commented that he might have missed it as he receives thousands of messages on his Instagram everyday. 

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