In the India vs Afghanistan match, Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq emerged as the center of attention. The crowd at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium welcomed the pacer with resounding chants of “Kohli! Kohli!”
Notably, Naveen-ul-Haq, who represents the Lucknow Super Giants and has previously played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), had a heated altercation with RCB’s former skipper, Virat Kohli, during an IPL match earlier this year on May 1.
The fiery exchange between Naveen and Kohli occurred during an away match of RCB against LSG in the IPL 2023 season. Kohli was also involved in verbal disputes with LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir and West Indies batsman Kyle Mayers during this infamous IPL encounter.
During the IPL season, Naveen is believed to have playfully teased Kohli on his Instagram stories. As Kohli’s fans held nothing back in their response to Naveen’s on and off-field actions, a video of spectators taunting the Afghan cricketer gained significant attention on social media.
Earlier, during Afghanistan’s World Cup match against Bangladesh, Naveen-ul-Haq faced fervent trolling by Kohli’s supporters as Afghanistan defended a modest total at Dharamsala’s Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
In the current World Cup match, Afghanistan’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, won the toss and elected to bat at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. India, fresh from their six-wicket victory against Australia, made a single change in their lineup.
Hashmatullah Shahidi expressed confidence in Afghanistan’s bowling prowess and their ability to contain India, emphasizing the team’s enthusiasm to display their talent. India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, noted the presence of dew from the previous evening and mentioned that the wicket was unlikely to change significantly. He expressed the need for a strong bowling performance and a better batting display. India included Shardul Thakur in place of Ashwin for the match.
