World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli, Naveen-ul-Haq bury the hatchet with a hug during India-Afghanistan match in Delhi

Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq decided to bury the hatchet and hug it out during the ICC World Cup league stage meeting between India and Afghanistan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

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Indian batting star Kohli and Afghan seamer Naveen had been involved in a heated exchange in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on 1 May.

LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir too was involved in the spat, getting into a face-off with RCB superstar Kohli after the game, and things escalated to the point where Naveen was taking potshots at Kohli on social media, including when RCB had been knocked out of the race to the playoffs by Mumbai Indians.

In Wednesday’s clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, however, the two players decided to call a truce and shake hands to bring to an end the bad blood that existed between them.

On Wednesday, chants of ‘Kohli Kohli’ welcomed Naveen when he came into the bowl. During India’s chase of 273, the two players were seen enjoying a lighter movement. For Naveen, the matter never went beyond the boundary ropes.

Watch: Fans troll Naveen with ‘Kohli’ chants during IND-AFG World Cup match

“Crowd will chant for their home cricketers and that is what they did. It is his (Kohli’s) home ground. He is a nice guy, a good player and we shook hands.

“It (what happened) was always in the ground, it was nothing outside the ground. People make it big. They need that stuff for their followers. He said (today) ‘we are done with that and I said yes we are done with that. We shook hands and hugged,” Naveen told PTI.

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