'Or bolega bhi kyaa... abhi toh shuruwat hai beta' - Fans divided as Naveen-ul-Haq reacts to 'Kohli, Kohli' chants after losing to MI in Eliminator

Naveen-ul-Haq (Source: Twitter)

If there is an award for the most talked about cricketer of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq deserves it more than anyone else. Ever since his altercation with Virat Kohli on May 1, wherever he goes, Indian fans have never allowed his ears be free of "Kohli...Kohli" chanting. It all started at Chinnaswamy during a league match and ended at Chepauk as Naveen and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bid farewell to the season after losing to Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Eliminator on Wednesday, May 24.

Naveen had a decent outing with the ball in the IPL 2023, but more than his performance, the LSG pacer and cricket fans will be remembered for his spat with former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Kohli. The right-arm pacer shone with a four-wicket haul in a must-win game against MI, but the crowd's chants of "Kohli, Kohli" remained the biggest talking point.

"It gives me passion to play well for my team"

However, as his team's campaign comes to a close, the 23-year-old has responded to the fan' hatred, mocking, and booing during the post-match press conference on Wednesday. The LSG seamer said that he enjoys the chants and that they fuel his desire to perform well for the team.

"I enjoy it. I like everyone in the ground chanting his (Virat Kohli) name or any other player’s name. It gives me passion to play well for my team,” said Naveen.

“Well I don’t concentrate on the outside or the noise from outside or anything else. I just focus on my own cricket and my own process. Crowd chanting or anyone saying something doesn’t affect me. As professional sportsmen you have to take this in your stride. One do when you don’t good for your team, fans are going to give it to you. And when you do good for your team, same people are going to chant your name. Basically this is part and parcel of the game,” he added.

Here's how fans reacted to Naveen-ul-Haq's statement: 

Never ever mess with King Kohli and his fans

I repeat, Never ever

— Aarav (@sigma__male_) May 25, 2023

What a matured reply. Well done Naveen

— Wickets Hitting (@offpacedelivery) May 25, 2023

This has become too much . LSG management should have shown some maturity and ended this same day . But they continue to take this guy press conference and same topic has been discussed unnecessarily.

— Sajan Hussain (@iamsajanhussain) May 25, 2023

Keeping all the controversies aside !! Full marks to this guy for his confidence and maintaining his self-respect! 💯🔥

— V (@VPrisha_S) May 25, 2023

You are already doing well.
Let, them bark as they were used to do such things since 2008 with 0 ipl trophy.

— Sanjib Samanta (@itsS_Cube) May 25, 2023

I can see his tears coming out of his eyes

— Pratyush Tripathy (@tpratyush18) May 25, 2023

I myself felt this at Eden Gardens when i went for KKR VS LSG game, we Indians should respect Sportsmanship, is tarah karna is not good, Virat being such a big cricketer is not making a stand for this shit which happened after every match in Ipl

— @nurag sharm@ (@anuragsharma143) May 25, 2023

Setting aside his whatever behaviour but i loved this man confidence 🔥

— Dhiraj 🇮🇳 (@DhirajK22702206) May 25, 2023

Or bolega bhi kyaa...abhi toh shuruwat hai beta....💥🔥💪😅

— 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚓 (@_suraj_018) May 25, 2023

He has done all this by himself. He should just apologise to all the fans on the same IG story where he started all this and things will become normal.

— Shahzeb Khan (@theshahzebkhan) May 25, 2023