Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka recently spoke up about the old rivalry between Naveen-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli that emerged during IPL 2023. Both the players were involved in a heated exchange during an IPL 2023 match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (now Bangalore).
The incident started when Virat Kohli supposedly sledged Naveen-ul-Haq during the match. However, Naveen was later having an intense chat with the star India cricketer after the match as he didn’t quite like the words used by Kohli.
LSG’s mentor at that time Gautam Gambhir was also involved during the argument later in the game. The argument became heated but was later stopped. By that time, it had created headlines as Naveen was constantly booed on the ground for having a heated exchange with Kohli.
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During a podcast with Ranveer Allahbadia on his YouTube channel, Sanjiv Goenka was asked about his role during the heated exchange between Naveen-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli. Goenka gave his own opinion by saying that nobody can judge the two players as they know what was going on during that time.
“That situation arose in the game. I won’t say if anybody is right or wrong. It is easy to be judgmental but it is not for us to judge anyone. Only he can understand what was going on in his mind during that time,” Goenka said.
Sanjiv Goenka also promised full support to Naveen-ul-Haq during this period but asked him to fight back with his performance. He also called Naveen a person with a big heart for resolving the issue and praised Kohli as well.
“But I told Naveen that if you need any support and if you are feeling insecure, we are there to support you. But it is not only about showing that you have the spirit to fight. If I were you, I would have said that I will pick the wickets of your team. Let the work speak,” Goenka advised Naveen.
“There is only one approach. Naveen is a very good boy and is also big-hearted. So, he went to Virat (Kohli) and resolved the issue. And Virat equally made it up as well,” he added.
“You need to quieten them out” – Sanjiv Goenka on owner’s role
Sanjiv Goenka also cited the example of the recent altercation between Travis Head and Mohammed Siraj and opened up about the owner’s role during these times.
“These kind of situations happen just like Travis Head and Mohammed Siraj. As an owner, you need to quieten them out. You have 14 games in league stages. You need to win 8 games in order to qualify for the playoffs,” Goenka noted.
“Very few teams win more than 9 games. So, you will lose four to five games. You may go with a brilliant attitude but the other person can have a better attitude or a better day,” he claimed.
How did the matter resolve?
The matter was later resolved next year when Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq shook hands with each other during the ODI World Cup 2023 match between India and Afghanistan in Delhi and brought an end to this argument.
Virat also asked the Delhi crowd to applaud Naveen-ul-Haq rather than booing him.
Both the players were happy to get on with each other in IPL 2024 as well. Not only Naveen, Kohli also resolved the issue with Gautam Gambhir during IPL 2024 to bring an end to that altercation as well.
