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Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) all-rounder (LSG) Naveen-ul-Haq has opened up on the heated battle between him and Virat Kohli during the last season of IPL which eventually escalated with Gautam Gambhir getting involved in the proceedings. 

Naveen and Kohli had exchanged some words in the middle which angered Gambhir who sided with his team member, leading to players from both camps coming out to separate the former Indian teammates. 

Speaking to ZalmiTV, Naveen revealed that the seeds of the tussle were laid in the previous match between the two sides in Bengaluru where the Lucknow-based franchise won and that Gambhir later got 'carried away'. 

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"We went to play our away match in Bengaluru. That's where it all started. We won that game - it was very close – so one of our players [Avesh Khan] threw the helmet in excitement after scoring the winning runs," said Naveen. 

"Virat Kohli probably didn't like it. Next, their team came to Lucknow. I think I went out to bat at No. 9 or 10 and we had pretty much lost the game by then," he added.

"So, I didn't expect that I would be sledged. But when it happened, like I said, when someone starts, I can't hold back. After the game, things continued during the handshake too. The sledging came from two guys – Kohli and Mohammed Siraj."

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Also read | Naveen-ul-Haq makes sensational claim against Virat Kohli: ‘It wasn’t me’

Gambhir overreacted 

In the podcast, Naveen, who retired from ODIs and Test cricket last year, added that Gambhir had an overreaction when he made the shush gesture in Bengaluru. 

"Gautam Gambhir got carried away because in the previous game, when we needed 1 off 1, one of their bowlers wanted to run the non-striker out while running in to bowl. It was the last wicket. It got heated because the bowler missed taking the bails off."

After he spat, the three cricketers were handed heavy fines. Kohli and Gambhir were fined 100 per cent of their match fees while Naveen had to forego 50 per cent of his match fee. IPL also released a statement conveying that Kohli and Gambhir confessed to having committed a Level 2 offence.

Watch | ODI World Cup 2023 - Virat Kohli and Naveen ul Haq close IPL fight with hug during India vs Afghanistan

However, during the ODI World Cup match in New Delhi in October last year, Kohli and Naveen hugged each other with a smile and buried the hatchet. 

(With inputs from agencies)