"There Are Very Few Like You": Gautam Gambhir's Special Birthday Wish For Naveen-ul-Haq

Former India batter Gautam Gambhir and Afghanistan's star pacer Naveen-ul-Haq share a good bond with each other, thanks to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. While Gambhir was the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Naveen was the player bought by the franchise ahead of the season. LSG paid an amount of Rs 50 lakh to secure the services of the bowling sensational from Afghanistan. During Naveen's face-off with Virat Kohli in IPL 2023 too, Gambhir took a stand for his player.

On Saturday, Naveen turned 24 and Gambhir had a sweet message for the player.

"Happy Birthday @naveen_ul_haq! There are very few like you. Never change!" wrote Gambhir on Instagram while uploading a picture of his with the Afghanistan pacer.

IPL 2023 produced some avoidable scenes, particularly during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants on May 1.

It was RCB stalwart Kohli who clashed with LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq and later Gautam Gambhir on the field. While the exact details of what transpired on the field still remain hidden, Gambhir later explained why he sided with Naveen and went head-to-head with Kohli, triggering one of the biggest on-field fights in the history of the T20 league.

Gambhir, in a chat with a media house, explained that a lot was said about his and Kohli's argument on the field, particularly for TRPs. But what happened between them should stay between them as it doesn't need any 'clarification'.

Further during the chat, Gambhir explained his decision to side with Naveen as he felt that the Afghan pacer did nothing wrong to trigger the sort of response that he got from Kohli.