Cricket World Cup: Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq© Twitter
Indian superstar Virat Kohli and Afghanistan pacer Naveen Ul Haq, who were involved in an ugly spat in the IPL earlier this year, let bygones be bygones with a shakehand and a hug during their World Cup game in Delhi on Wednesday. Naveen and Kohli were engaged in a heated exchange during the IPL when the former came to bat for the home team Lucknow Super Giants’ tense chase against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The incident snowballed into a massive controversy as both cricketers took their altercation to the next level in the customary post match handshake. K L Rahul had to intervene and later LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir was too seen fuming on the field.
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.
“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.
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.”
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