'There are very few like you, never change' - Gautam Gambhir's birthday post for Naveen ul Haq goes viral

Afghanistan youngster Naveen ul Haq turned 24 years old on September 23 1999. The right-arm seamer got wishes from many notable names from the cricketing fraternity on his special day. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Gautam Gambhir also wished the budding cricketer with a special Instagram post.

The former India cricketer took to Instagram to share a picture with Naveen and wrote, “Happy Birthday @naveen_ul_haq! There are very few like you. Never change!”. However, the birthday post by Gambhir hasn’t gone down well with a few fans who’re calling it a taunt towards Virat Kohli.

Notably, Kohli and Naveen had an altercation during Match 43 of the IPL 2023 between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants. Following the incident, the RCB batter even got into a verbal spat with Gambhir which became the most talked about moment of the edition. 

The former India opener has also openly criticised Kohli for some of his acts but has also praised the former India captain for his noteworthy performances. Despite that, a certain section of fans feel that Gambhir is jealous of Kohli and tries to bring him down.

Naveen gets selected in Afghanistan World Cup squad

Meanwhile, Naveen was recently drafted into Afghanistan’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad after missing out from the team for Asia Cup 2023. He last played an ODI  in January 2021 vs Ireland and has picked 14 wickets from seven ODIs at an average of 25.42 and an economy of 5.78.

He had a good outing in the IPL 2023 as well having scalped 11 wickets from seven innings at an average of 19.90 and an economy of 7.82. The Afghan seamer registered his best bowling figures of 4/38 in four overs vs Mumbai Indians in Eliminator.

Afghanistan will start their World Cup campaign with a game against Bangladesh on Saturday, October 07 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala. Before that, they will lock horns against South Africa on September 29 and Sri Lanka on October 03 for two warm-up games.