Naveen-ul-Haq on 'Kohli, Kohli' chantsI enjoy, it gives me passion to play well for my team

By India Today Sports DeskLucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Naveen-ul-Haq has been the target of relentless taunting and chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli’ by fans in the IPL 2023 for the last 25 days.

The furore began after a heated exchange with RCB stalwart Virat Kohli during their match on May 1 in Lucknow. Fans took it upon themselves to taunt Naveen every time he took the field, but the player managed to remain unfazed.

During the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians (MI), the crowd continued their taunting as Naveen took the ball. However, he silenced the chants by dismissing MI opener Rohit Sharma with a catch at cover.

IPL EliminatorLSG vs MI Highlights

Afghanistan’s Naveen celebrated by putting two fingers in his ears, symbolically drowning out the noise. This back-and-forth jibing between the crowd and Naveen became the highlight of the first innings.

When asked about the chants, Naveen expressed his enjoyment of the atmosphere, saying it fueled his passion to perform well for his team. He emphasised the need for professional athletes to handle such situations and not let external noise affect their game.

“I enjoy it (chanting),” Naveen said in the post-match press conference. “I like that everybody in the ground is chanting his name, or any other player’s name. It gives me passion to play well for my team.

“I don’t concentrate on the outside noise. 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. As professional sportsmen you have to take it in your stride. 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 added.

Despite the theatrics, Naveen performed well throughout the season, finishing with a total of 11 wickets, including four in the Eliminator against MI. His crucial wickets included Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green, who were in a dominant partnership. Naveen used his variations effectively, including well-executed cutters and changes of pace.

Although LSG’s batting lineup faltered in their pursuit of reaching Qualifier 2, Naveen’s impressive spell of 4 for 38 kept his team in the game. Reflecting on his season, he acknowledged individual success but prioritised the team’s goal of winning the trophy.

“You assess the conditions. You see the conditions, what they offer. I think the pitch was offering a bit of help,” Naveen said. “It wasn’t like we were bowling 3-4 slower ones in an over but just to keep the batters guessing, you have to vary your pace and vary your line and length. It comes with T20, it’s a fast format and you have to adjust quickly and be a step ahead of the batter.

“To be honest, it [his season] was good. We could’ve done better as a team. Individual performances don’t count. At the end of the day, our team goal was to win the trophy. My individual performance comes second. It was a good season for me, I learnt quite a few things from this IPL and hopefully [I’ll] come back stronger,” Naveen said.