Naveen ul Haq on social media trolls: It gave me motivation to play well in IPL 2023 and also during ODI World Cup

It’s a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon at the Holkar Stadium and Naveen ul Haq has just finished his training ahead of the second T20I against India. As the young fast bowler from Afghanistan takes a break, he obliges a few fans with selfies and autographs, before joining his colleagues in a team huddle.

Featuring in its maiden white ball bilateral series against India, Afghanistan suffered a six wicket defeat in the opening fixture in Mohali a couple of days ago. In the biting cold, it was not a memorable outing for the 24 year old as he conceded 43 runs and even went wicket less. However, with the improved weather conditions, Naveen is hoping to bounce back.

“It’s a pleasant weather here. The visibility is better as compared to Mohali, so it should be easier to bowl, bat and field. It’s going to be a good game of cricket and we are looking forward to it,” he says. The fixture will also see the return of Virat Kohli to India’s T20I team after 14 long months, and Naveen is looking forward to bowling to him.

In a chat with , the Afghan fast bowler talks about his journey and emphasises on the need for more bilateral series. It has been a great journey and I am humbled to have achieved whatever I could thus far and hopefully, I will be able to work harder to achieve many more things for my country. The main aim is to work hard, be disciplined and stay focused on whatever you have in hand.

In the past, these are the things that have worked for me. Apart from that, the support of my family and friends have been immense. They have been really kind towards me and have contributed a lot in this journey so far. (Smiles) Just before the ODI World Cup, I had a knee injury and the decision to retire from the one dayers was subject to that.

The series itself is motivating for all the players who are part of it. This is historic and I hope many more come for us on this journey, so that we can play India and other major teams more often. That way, we can gain a lot of confidence as a team. This is the T20 World Cup year, so hopefully, we can have something out of this series and that will be helpful for us during the T20 World Cup (in June).

As the coach has said, it has been an issue with many of the teams, including Afghanistan. Not all the major teams are willing or they don’t have any space in their FTP to play against us. It’s a great initiative that BCCI and the Afghanistan Cricket Board have taken to organise this first ever bilateral series against India.

Hopefully, it’s the first of many more series against India and bigger nations. If that happens, it will help us perform better in the ICC events. Absolutely. It’s a global game and things should be equal for every full member side. That’s what many cricketing nations also think, so I feel, this is a new start for Afghanistan cricket and after our performance in the ODI World Cup, many big teams will now be willing to play against us, and hopefully, we can have many more such series going ahead.

It was a historic World Cup in many ways. Since the 2015 World Cup, where we just had one victory against Scotland, we were not able to win in any other editions. But in the 2023 edition of the tournament, we had four wins and we narrowly missed out on the semifinal spot. It’s a big step for Afghanistan cricket.

Earlier, Afghanistan cricket was only known for its expertise in T20 cricket, but this was quite a big and significant change for people to see during the ODI World Cup. As a cricketer, it’s an individual’s choice whether to show his emotions on the ground or not. Every time I play for my country, or club or franchise, I play with a full heart.

That will be with me till I play my last game. Ups and downs are bound to happen in a cricketer’s career and we need to accept that and just play the game in a way so that we can enjoy it. It will be different for each individual, but this is the way I play my game and this is what I am known for.

So, I won’t change my playing style and the way I have been on and off the field. It might feel different for the people who are watching it from outside. But we can’t justify to them or go and tell them how I am on and off the field. It is what it is. I don’t dislike trolling, nor do I see it in a bad way.

We have a friends and family group on WhatsApp and the memes that I was getting during the IPL last year, I would share it all with them. Those were just memes for me and I wasn’t bothered. It gave me motivation to play well in that IPL and also during the World Cup. It doesn’t bother me. (Laughs) Yes.

I had a bit of a chat with him during and after the game in the ODI World Cup. So, there was nothing personal between us. It all happened at the heat of the moment, and I am surely looking forward to bowling to him in this series. Comments Related Topics.