Rohit Sharma’s blitzkrieg knock against Afghanistan may have lit up the Arun Jaitely Stadium on Wednesday night but the friendly exchange between Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq stole the show. India won the game by 8 wickets but the former Indian captain conquered a million hearts with his kind gestures.
The fans painted Kotla blued as Team India took on Afghanistan in their second ICC World Cup 2023 fixture. They have gathered to witness a spicy match-up between Kohli and Naveen as it was their first meeting since the altercation in the IPL earlier this year. The Afghan cricketer was welcomed with the ‘Kohli-Kohli’ chants when he walked out to bat in the first innings.
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The impact of chants did not go missing in the commentary box as former India head coach Ravi Shastri said, “Naveen ul Haq comes out to bat and shouts are of ‘Kohli, Kohli’. I wonder why… No prizes for guessing.”
The chants echoed in the arena once again when Kohli was in the middle during India’s chase and Naveen had the ball in hand. But then unfolded the unexpected as both cricketers generously hugged each other and were all smiles.
Shastri summed up the incidents pretty well after the conclusion of the game. Speaking on Star Sports, the former all-rounder said the gestures of both cricketers were ‘great to see’.
“An interesting development took place when Rohit Sharma was dismissed and Shreyas Iyer was coming out. This is what happened. Naveen-ul-Haq, and Virat Kohli shaking hands with each other. And this is good. The crowd loved it. You might have your things to say in the heat of the moment, but this is absolutely great to see,” Shastri said.
But before concluding, Shastri did make a cheeky remark saying, “Whatever happens, Naveen has to go back to the Virat Kohli pavilion”.
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. KL Rahul had to intervene and later, LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir was also seen fuming on the field.
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