Former Indian opener and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Gautam Gambhir has sent birthday wishes to Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq as he turned 24 on Saturday, September 23.
Naveen-ul-Haq plays for LSG in the IPL, with Gambhir in the team's support staff. The two share a cordial bond. When Naveen was involved in an on-field verbal exchange with Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj during IPL 2023, Gambhir had his back and extended support to him.
Gambhir took to his official Instagram handle on Saturday and shared a picture of himself with Naveen to wish him well on his birthday. The 41-year-old captioned the post:
"Happy Birthday @naveen_ul_haq! There are very few like you. Never change!
Naveen-ul-Haq named in Afghanistan's squad for 2023 ICC ODI World Cup
After two years of wilderness in ODI cricket, Naveen-ul-Haq made a comeback as the Afghanistan selectors named him in their 15-man World Cup squad. Afghanistan lost a series against Pakistan and were then eliminated in the group stage of the Asia Cup. They will be hoping Naveen's experience of playing in the IPL can help their pace department in the upcoming World Cup.
Afghanistan World Cup squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq.
Here is Afghanistan's complete schedule for the World Cup:
Match 1: October 7 - Bangladesh vs. Afghanistan, Dharamsala, 10.30 am IST
Match 2: October 11 - India vs. Afghanistan, Delhi, 2.00 pm IST
Match 3: October 15 - England vs. Afghanistan, Delhi, 2.00 pm IST
Match 4: October 18 - New Zealand vs. Afghanistan, Chennai, 2.00 pm IST
Match 5: October 23 - Pakistan vs. Afghanistan, Chennai, 2.00 pm IST
Match 6: October 30 - Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka, Pune, 2.00 pm IST
Match 7: November 3 - Netherlands vs. Afghanistan, Lucknow, 2.00 pm IST
Match 8: November 7 - Australia vs. Afghanistan, Mumbai, 2.00 pm IST
Match 9: November 10 - South Africa vs. Afghanistan, Ahmedabad, 2.00 pm IST
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