Afghanistan and Lucknow Super Giants seamer Naveen-ul-Haq opened up about the infamous ‘sweet mangoes’ feud that he had got going with Virat Kohli during IPL 2023.
The clash between Naveen and Kohli was in the news during IPL 2023. During the low-scoring match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants, Kohli was seen making animated gestures towards Naveen when he entered the match.
After the match, as things heated up, Naveen confronted Kohli during the customary handshake between the teams, with LSG coach Gautam Gambhir also present. The controversy lasted for several days as Kohli and Naveen made such cryptic social media posts about each other.
One such post is by Naveen, who posted a picture of a mango from his hotel roomright after Kohli was sent off in the match against Mumbai Indians, with a TV in the background. I captioned it “Sweet Mango”. . People believed it was Kohli and would be the running standard for the rest of the season.
Naveen-ul-Haq’s ‘sweet mangoes’ Instagram story
In Interview with LSG published yesterday (December 2), Naveen reveals the story behind the post ‘Sweet Mangoes’. did. He said that this was not aimed at Kohli and people may not have interpreted it the way Kohli intended, but they did not interfere and people enjoyed it.
“I told Dhaval bhai (LSG Team Logistics) that I wanted to eat mangoes for 3-4 days. When we went to Goa, he brought us mangoes. I ate a mango and the TV was in front of me. There wasn’t even a picture (of Kohli) on the screen. It was from a Mumbai Indians player.
“So I wrote and posted ‘Sweet Mango’, but people received it differently. I didn’t even say anything when they did that. I wanted people to enjoy mangoes. Since it was mango season, people’s business should also be good,” he said Naveen.
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Naveen opened up about his feud with Kohli and the abuse he received afterwards, saying that it made him want to do better. In the eliminator against Mumbai Indians, Naveen took 4-38 in 4 overs. He credited this performance to the reaction of his fans giving him extra motivation.
“I said it gives me more motivation to play better,” Naveen said. “Because I couldn’t reply to everyone by sending messages, making comments, stopping chants. The game was in my hands. I was able to showcase my skills and abilities. It gave me a little motivation.
The main reason for my performance in the playoffs (4 wins, 38 losses) was the chants, DMs, and comments directed at me. That gave me motivation. ”
Kohli and Naveen reunited at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium during the 2023 World Cup where they hugged and put their differences to rest. Naveen explained how the incident happened.
“Rohit [Sharma]Bhai went out. Rashid (Khan) took him outside and there was a drink break. After the break, he went all the way down to the ground. I wanted to. I was about to overtake him (Kohli) when our eyes met. Virat said, ‘Let’s finish it’ and I said, ‘Yes, let’s finish it.’
“He had nothing [negative] in his heart [toward me], and I also had nothing [negative] in my heart [towards him]. I didn’t have it. Whatever happened happened on the field. I said, ‘I respect him as a player.’ What he’s done so far and what he’s doing now. Whatever it is we all need to appreciate and understand. ”
“So he said, “Let’s get it over with.” And I said, “Yeah, let’s get it over with.” Then we laughed about it, hugged, and then… Proceeded to.”
