Naveen claims Kohli physically provoked him during ugly spat in IPL

Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq has landed some fresh allegations on Virat Kohli, claiming that he was physically provoked by the Royal Challengers Bangalore star that led to an ugly spat between the two during the 2023 Indian Premier League. Kohli found himself in the centre of two big controversies in the IPL 2023 – first for the 'no handshake' saga with former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and then the altercation that broke out between him and Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir, also involving Naveen.

While none of the three have openly disclosed what led to the verbal brawl, this stunning revelation by Naveen comes as close to the real picture as possible. It was during the 18th over of LSG's chase that Kohli and Naveen were involved in a heated exchange; however, the Afghanistan quick reveals that tempers flared after the match, accusing Virat of triggering the fight.

"He (Kohli) shouldn't have said all those things during the match and after it. I didn't start the fight. After the match, when we were shaking hands, Virat Kohli started the fight. I just want to say one thing I generally don't sledge anyone, and even if I do it I would say it to the batters only when I am bowling because I am a bowler. In that match, I didn't utter a single word. I didn't sledge anyone," Naveen told BBC Pashto.

"Players who were there, they know how I dealt with the situation. I never lost my temper, when I was batting or after the match. What I did after the match can be seen by everyone. I was just shaking hands and then he (Kohli) grabbed my hand forcefully and I am also a human being and I reacted."

The live shots of Kohli and Naveen's handshake was not a finish many had in mind. In fact, there was so much bad blood between the two that Naveen even turned down KL Rahul when the LSG captain tried to play pacifier between him and Kohli. It is believed that the Kohli-Naveen tiff led to Gambhir's involvement, which further resulted in the infamous visuals between the two former India teammates. All three were fined. Naveen had earlier in an interview stated that he will not react timidly to anything said to him out of line and reiterated the same here.

"When you will look at the fines you will understand who started the fight. If someone is saying something to me I won't back off. I have had it since I started playing the U-16 for Afghanistan. I never badmouth anyone but if anyone does that to me I don't stay silent. I give it back. You can call it wrong but that's how it is," he mentioned.

"Be it a young player from the opposition or a senior team member, be it in a club match, playing for Afghanistan, or in the IPL, I play the cricket match with the same intensity and I would back off when someone says something to me."