Former India opener Gautam Gambhir urged fans to stop trolling and mocking cricketers, whether in-person or online, after Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq resolved their disagreement with warm exchange.
India played against Afghanistan in the 9th match of the 2023 ODI World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, October 11. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation surrounding the faceoff between Kohli and Naveen after the two cricketers had an unpleasant argument during the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year.
However, both players shown remarkable maturity by deciding to bury the hatchet during the match on Wednesday. They had a friendly handshake and even clapped each other on the back during India’s pursuit.
Gambhir, who was also engaged in the IPL brawl, was on commentary when Kohli and Naveen reconciled.
He shared his opinion on the subject, saying:
“You fight on the field, not off the field. Every player has the right to fight for his team, fight for respect, and fight to win. It doesn’t matter which country you belong to or how good of a player you are. The good thing was when we saw Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq in between the overs, we can see that the fight has ended.”
Gautam Gambhir
The former cricketer sent a strong message to fans, saying:
“I would also want to tell the crowd and fans that any player in the ground or on social media, shouldn’t be trolled or made fun of. You are passionate when you represent your team. It was a huge thing for Naveen to play in IPL for the first time coming from Afghanistan.”
Gautam Gambhir
Kohli stayed undefeated on 55 off 56 balls as India pursued 273 with eight wickets in hand in 35 overs. As a result, the Men in Blue won their second World Cup game in a row.
Naveen Shares Kohli’s Words That Ended Their World Cup Feud
Speaking after the India-Afghanistan match, pacer Naveen shared his interaction with Kohli as well as the controversial incident between the two during IPL 2023. He stated things were exaggerated by people on the outside:
“He [Kohli] is a nice guy, a good player, and we shook hands. It’s always in the ground; it was nothing outside the ground. People make it big. They need that stuff for their followers. He said we are done with that, and I said yes, we are done with it. We shook hands and hugged.”
Naveen-ul-Haq
While Kohli batted well, Rohit Sharma was named Player of the Match against Afghanistan for his 131 off 84 balls.