The on-field feud between India's star batsman Virat Kohli and Afghanistan seamer Naveen-ul-Haq, which was a topic of discussion during IPL 2023, reached a resolution with both players shaking hands during a World Cup match in Delhi on Wednesday.
In 2023, tensions escalated between both players during a match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore. After the completion of the game, Virat and Naveen Ul-Haq were seen engaging in a heated exchange which garnered significant attention.
Kohli's perspective on the matter was evident when he stated in an RCB video, "A sweet win. If you can give it, you got to take it. Otherwise, don't give it."
Four months after the incident, during the 26th over of the second innings in the World Cup match on Wednesday, an unexpected moment of reconciliation occurred between Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul-Haq as they embraced each other by putting an end to the feud.
“He 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 said revealing the conversation he had with Kohli on the field following the duo's embrace.
Interestingly, Naveen had remained rather unapologetic over the entire incident in the past months, that added fuel to the rivalry. Following the controversial IPL game, Naveen took to his Instagram profile and wrote, “You get what you deserve. That's how it should be and that's how it goes.”
On Wednesday, India registered a comfortable win against Afghanistan by 8 wickets at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Rohit Sharma (131) scored the fastest century by an Indian batter in the World Cup. Virat Kohli scored 55 on his home ground.
India will face arch-rival Pakistan on October 14 in Ahmadabad.