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'I Respect Virat Kohli A Lot', Naveen-Ul-Haq On Past Feud With India Legend 

image-lpno1wauNaveen and Kohli mended ways during World Cup 2023 (Twitter)

Naveen Ul Haq put to rest his historic verbal spat and feud with Virat Kohli to rest by insisting he holds the Indian batting great in huge regard and respect. The Afghanistan seam bowler had received extensive flak and jeering from Indian fans on social media and on grounds for his infamous on-field altercation with the modern-day maestro. 

The incident dates back to IPL 2023 when the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) speedster and the former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper indulged in an ugly exchange and threw abuses at each other following an argument at the fag end of LSG's run-chase in Lucknow. 

Soon, Kohli's humongous fanbase joined the bandwagon and took the onus upon them to continue the virtual assault against the young Afghani bowler via trolling and nasty remarks on social media. Even when Naveen played, he was greeted with 'Kohli!! Kohli!!!' chants at the grounds. 

Naveen Ul Haq Recalls Mending Ways With Virat Kohli 

These chants were evident during the ICC World Cup 2023, where the matter finally settled with a heartwarming touch when Kohli gleefully accepted Naveen with open arms, and the two players shared a hug in front of a packed Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi. 

It was that hug Naveen recalled during an interaction with his IPL franchise, Super Giants, after being retained ahead of the league's mini-auction in December for the looming 2024 edition. As he ran in to bowl, Naveen was seen once again indulging in a brief conversation with Kohli. 

The big difference, however, was that there were smiles on display instead of anger and abuse as Kohli hugged Naveen and asked the Kotla crowd not to jeer him. From that moment on, the Afghanistan bowler played the rest of the World Cup without any instance of verbal abuse or trolling from the crowds in India. 

"I respect Virat Kohli a lot. What he has done and doing in cricket is incredible. We all have to appreciate him and understand that. Then we hugged each other. He asked the crowd to not shout my name and crowds were cheering for us in every stadium," said Naveen, fondly reminiscing Kohli's lion-hearted gesture for him.