“I respect him a lot and have learnt so many things from him” - Naveen-ul-Haq hails LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq praised franchise mentor Gautam Gambhir, stating that he has huge respect for the Indian ‘legend’. He added that he has learnt a lot from the former opener during his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 stint.

Naveen was the standout performer for LSG in the Eliminator clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, May 24. He registered figures of 4/38, claiming the big wickets of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green and Tilak Varma.

Apart from his bowling, Naveen has also been in the news for his tussle with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli. The two had an altercation during the LSG-RCB game on May 1. Lucknow mentor Gautam stood up for the pacer and even took on Kohli, engaging in a heated argument with the former India captain.

In a post-match conference, following LSG’s exit from IPL 2023, Naveen hailed Gambhir and commented:

“Everyone should back their own players. Mentor, coach, player or anyone - I will stand for each teammate on the ground and that’s what I expect from each individual also. He (Gambhir) has been a legend for India; he has huge respect in India. He has given so much to Indian cricket.

“As a mentor, as a coach, as a legend of cricket, I respect him a lot and have learnt so many things from him - how I should go about my cricket inside the field and same thing outside.”

Gambhir, who had represented Delhi and Kolkata in the IPL during his playing days, came onboard as LSG mentor ahead of the franchise’s debut during the 2022 season.

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“I learnt quite a few things from this IPL” - Naveen-ul-Haq

While LSG failed to go all the way in IPL 2023, Naveen admitted that it was a good season for him personally. He, however, added that they could have done better as a team.

Reflecting on his learnings from the season, the 23-year-old Afghanistan cricketer commented:

"To be honest, it [his season] was good. We could've done better as a team. Individual performances don't count. At the end of the day, our team goal was to win the trophy. My individual performance comes second. It was a good season for me, I learnt quite a few things from this IPL and hopefully [I'll] come back stronger.

The right-arm pacer featured in eight matches in IPL 2023, claiming 11 wickets at an average of 19.91 and an economy rate of 7.82.