Gautam Gambhir's on-field clash: Naveen-Ul-Haq reminisces over Virat Kohli spat

The on-field clash between Virat Kohli and Naveen-Ul-Haq, with Gautam Gambhir also involved, caused a stir during IPL 2023. It happened during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Stadium, Lucknow. Initially, it was between Kohli and Naveen, but soon Gambhir stepped in, backing Naveen, and the situation escalated as the two former Indian teammates faced off.

Naveen said in a report

“We went to play our away match in Bengaluru. That’s where it all started. We won that game – it was very close – so one of our players [Avesh Khan] threw the helmet in excitement after scoring the winning runs. Virat Kohli probably didn’t like it. Next, their team came to Lucknow. I think I went out to bat at No. 9 or 10 and we had pretty much lost the game by then.”

He also added, “So, I didn’t expect that I would be sledged. But when it happened, like I said, when someone starts, I can’t hold back. After the game, things continued during the handshake too. The sledging came from two guys – Kohli and Mohammed Siraj.” 

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As the recap of clash Naveen said some more

“Gautam Gambhir got carried away [with the shush gesture] because in the previous game, when we needed 1 off 1, one of their bowlers wanted to run the non-striker out while running in to bowl. It was the last wicket. It got heated because the bowler missed taking the bails off.”

“Spirit-wise it wasn’t looking good because it had proven to be such a good game by then. It would have been a shame had it ended in a run out. Because of that, he wanted to silence the crowd. He is a passionate guy, and so is Virat.” 

Since then, all three players have shared their perspectives on the incident. Recently, Naveen disclosed some behind-the-scenes details about the altercation. Interestingly, both Kohli and Gambhir have a history of heated exchanges in the IPL. Back in 2013, during an IPL match, Kohli and Gambhir had a fiery confrontation when Gambhir was leading Kolkata Knight Riders.

However, there’s a positive twist to this tale. During the ODI World Cup in October, Kohli and Naveen put their differences aside and were spotted sharing a hug, signaling a resolution to their disagreement.