To qualify for the IPL 2023 Playoffs, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) needed to win their final season match against the defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT), but Shubman Gill’s magnificent century knocked them out. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) had already qualified for the playoffs after defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders by one run on Saturday.
Afghanistan and LSG bowler Naveen-Ul-Haq and RCB batsman Virat Kohli are no longer friends after their argument earlier this season. After Kohli’s century didn’t matter because GT won by six wickets, Naveen uploaded another “cryptic” Instagram story on Sunday. Fans soon shared Naveen’s message on social media because it was evident that the bowler was mocking Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Kohli and Naveen got involved in a violent brawl after RCB won the IPL 2023 league match in Lucknow. Following the game, the RCB batsman engaged in another confrontation with LSG coach Gautam Gambhir. Kohli and Gambhir were both fined 100% of their match fees, while Naveen was fined 50%.
LSG teams have been subjected to chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli’ wherever they have played since then. Naveen was seen silencing the spectators at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata during their recent match against KKR. During the second over of the KKR innings, English batsman Jason Roy blasted a torrent of boundaries against the Afghan pacer. The audience erupted in screams of “Kohli, Kohli,” clearly in support of Kohli, sending the arena into a frenzy.
In response to the boisterous chanting, Naveen-Ul-Haq lifted his finger to his lips, motioning for the crowd to stop. Despite his efforts to calm the crowd, the home crowd of the Kolkata Knight Riders continued to batter the bowler with Kohli chants.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. During a previous match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Lucknow Super Giants coach Gautam Gambhir made a similar gesture.
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis expressed disappointment that his team did not advance to the playoff stage. “It’s evident that this is a major disappointment. Tonight, we have a really excellent team, and Shuman Gill performed a fantastic game. There was a lot of grip in the second session. A score of 195 to 200 seemed reasonable to me. “We needed to get rid of Shubman,” Du Plessis remarked after the game during his post-game statement.
“From the standpoint of our top four batters, they performed an excellent job… We continued missing a couple runs throughout the season, especially in the late innings. Perhaps we didn’t get as many wickets in the middle overs as we would have liked. We need a solid middle order, and we have to win games. Last season, it was DK, but not this year,” he explained.
