Who is Naveen-ul-Haq? 5 things you need to know about the LSG player who had a heated fight with Virat Kohli in IPL 2023

Naveen-ul-Haq had a war of words with Virat Kohli last night after the match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Lucknow Super Giants ended. The LSG player stared Kohli down while batting in the second innings.

Later in the night, when the players of the two teams shook hands with each other, Naveen-ul-Haq was spotted having a heated exchange with Virat Kohli. RCB all-rounder Glenn Maxwell calmed things down, but Naveen once again went near Virat while he was speaking to KL Rahul and denied a conversation with him.

Not many fans knew about Naveen-ul-Haq before IPL 2023. Here's a list of five things you need to know about the Afghanistan speedster.

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#1 Naveen-ul-Haq made his IPL debut last month in Jaipur

Naveen-ul-Haq received his maiden IPL contract from the Lucknow Super Giants at the mini auction last December. The Lucknow-based franchise roped him in at his base price of ₹50 lakh.

Naveen warmed the benches initially. He received his maiden LSG cap ahead of a match against the Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on April 19, 2023. The game against RCB was the fourth of his IPL career.

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#2 Naveen went for 59 runs in 4 overs against India in ICC T20 World Cup 2021

India v Afghanistan - ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 (Image: Getty)

Two years ago, when Afghanistan clashed against India in the Super 12 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Naveen bowled four overs and leaked 59 runs. He could not take any wickets in those four overs.

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya played brilliant knocks for Team India in that match as the Men in Blue scored 210/2 in their 20 overs.

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#3 Naveen-ul-Haq made his ODI debut at the age of 17

While Naveen recently made his IPL debut for the Lucknow Super Giants, he has been playing international cricket for Afghanistan since 2016. The pace bowler made his debut in an ODI against Bangladesh on September 25, 2016, two days after his 17th birthday.

Naveen bowled a spell of 1/62 in that match. His maiden international wicket was Mashrafe Mortaza.

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#4 Naveen-ul-Haq admires Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is one of the best fast bowlers in the world right now, and Naveen said in one of his interviews that he would be glad if he could become even half the bowler that Bumrah is.

"I admire him as a bowler. Such a cool and calm customer of the game. The way he carries himself even in the toughest of situations is a great example to learn from. I will be glad if I even become 50 percent of the bowler he is," Naveen told news9.

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#5 Naveen had a fight with Mohammad Amir in LPL

Virat Kohli is not the first cricketer with whom Naveen has had a heated war of words. During the 2020 Lanka Premier League season, Naveen exchanged words with Pakistan's star players Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Amir. Naveen played for Kandy Tuskers, while Afridi and Amir represented Galle Gladiators.

When asked to comment on the fight in an interview with TimesNow, Naveen had said:

"It's done and dusted, it's a story from the past and I would not like to reflect on it much. Such incidents happen from the heat of the moment but as long as it stays between two players, it's fine, a country should not be dragged into it. I got angry when they dragged my country into it."

Naveen-ul-Haq was the best bowler for LSG in their match against RCB. He will be keen to continue his good form when Lucknow take on Chennai Super Kings tomorrow.