LSG vs MI: Naveen-Ul-Haq Opens Up on Receiving ‘Kohli’ Chants

Ever since Naveen-Ul-Haq indulged in a spat with Virat Kohli, the Lucknow SuperGiants fast bowler has been facing a lot of flak from the fans. The Virat Kohli-Naveen-Ul-Haq fiasco began after the LSG vs RCB game but it did not end there. The Lucknow SuperGiants bowler was seen taking a sly dig at the former RCB skipper via Instagram stories.

The matter aggravated and since then every time Naveen-Ul-Haq was spotted in the field by fans, the stadium was filled with the chants of ‘Kohli! Kohli!’. Last night, after LSG’s elimination after a great performance by Naveen-Ul-Haq, the player opened up on the chants. In the post-match discussion, he added that the fans chanting the names gives him the drive to do better.

“I just focus on my own cricket,” says Naveen-Ul-Haq

“I enjoy it [being taunted by the crowd] and I like that everybody in the ground is chanting his [Kohli’s] name, or any other player’s name. It gives me passion to play well for my team. I just focus on my own cricket. It’s not like if the crowd is chanting or anyone is saying something… it doesn’t affect me. One day you will not do your best for the team and these fans are going to give it to you. On another day, you’ll do a special thing for your team and the same people are going to chant your name,” Naveen-Ul-Haq said.

The 23-year-old fast bowler made his IPL debut for Lucknow SuperGiants. Bowling first, Naveen-Ul-Haq delivered a great performance taking 4 crucial wickets. He started off by picking up Rohit Sharma, followed by Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma. After speaking about Virat Kohli’s chants, Naveen-Ul-Haq admitted that the target was achievable but the team could not handle the pressure of the knockout game. Nonetheless, Lucknow SuperGiants have had a good season making it to 2 back to back playoffs in 2 years.

Naveen-Ul-Haq has played 8 games this season taking 11 wickets with an economy of 7.82. Speaking about the game, batting first Mumbai Indians scored 183 runs. In response, the chasing team looked completely clueless getting bundled up for 101 runs. While CSK has already made it to the finals, GT and MI will play one more knockout game before making it to the finals.