New Delhi

Virat Kohli said people were left disappointed after he hugged Naveen-ul-Haq and Gautam Gambhir instead of beefing with them at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Kohli had a spat with Naveen and Gambhir last year when Royal challengers Bengaluru (RCB) squared up against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). 

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Speaking at a recent promotional event, Kohli said he had buried the hatchet with both and that there was not much to add to the controversy. 

"People are disappointed with my behaviour. I hugged Naveen and Gauti bhai also hugged me that day. So they have lost their masala (spice)," said Kohli.

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What had happened?

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

Months after the incident, the Afghanistani bowler 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 Gambhir 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.

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

"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."

Notably, after the 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.

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

"He told me 'let's finish it.' I said yeah let's finish it. We laughed about it, we hugged and moved on. He also said that after this you won't hear my name. You will only hear support from the crowd," said Naveen.

(With inputs from agencies)