Gautam Gambhir has strong message for fans as Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq shake hands and end feud

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir urged fans to stop trolling and making fun of cricketers both on the ground and on social media after Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq ended their spat with warm exchange.

India took on Afghanistan in match number nine of the 2023 ODI World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, October 11. The build-up to the match saw plenty of hype around the Kohli-Naveen clash after the two cricketers were involved in an ugly exchange during the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year.

Both the cricketers, however, showed great maturity and decided to bury the hatchet during the match on Wednesday. During India’s chase, they exchanged a warm handshake and even patted each other on the back.

Gambhir, who also got involved in the spat during IPL, was on commentary when Kohli and Naveen mended fences.

Sharing his thoughts on the same, he commented:

“You fight on the field, not off the field. Every player has the right to fight for his team, fight for respect, and fight to win. It doesn't matter which country you belong to or how good of a player you are. The good thing was when we saw Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq in between the overs, we can see that the fight has ended.”

Giving a stern message to fans, the former cricketer added:

“I would also want to tell the crowd and fans that any player in the ground or on social media, shouldn't be trolled or made fun of. You are passionate when you represent your team. It was a huge thing for Naveen to play in IPL for the first time coming from Afghanistan.”

Kohli remained unbeaten on 55 off 56 balls as India chased down 273 in 35 overs with eight wickets in hand. The Men in Blue thus registered their second win in as many games in the World Cup.

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“He said we are done with that, and I said yes” - Naveen on interaction with Kohli

Speaking after the India-Afghanistan match, pacer Naveen opened up on his interaction with Kohli as well as the controversial incident between the two during IPL 2023. He stated things were blown out of proportion by people on the outside:

"He [Kohli] is a nice guy, a good player, and we shook hands. It’s always in the ground; it was nothing outside the ground. People make it big. They need that stuff for their followers. He said we are done with that, and I said yes, we are done with it. We shook hands and hugged.”

While Kohli played an impressive knock, Rohit Sharma was the Player of the Match against Afghanistan for his 131 off 84 balls.