Why is Naveen-ul-Haq not  part of Afghanistan’s team in the Afghanistan-Sri Lanka ODI series?

Afghanistan’s pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who made his IPL debut this year and had a successful yet controversial IPL season, is not part of Afghanistan’s team in the three-match ODI series between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. But why is he not being included in the team now that Afghanistan has resumed its international matches? The links that people are connecting for his non-inclusion in the team are to his spat with Virat Kohli in IPL 2023. Though the Afghanistan side announced their squad in the month of May for the ODI series in Sri Lanka, excluding Naveen-ul-Haq from the team, netizens speculated that the decision was taken after his heated argument with Virat Kohli, and to punish him Afghanistan Cricket board didn’t name him in the ODI series, although there is no official statement as such made by the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

Naveen-ul-Haq had a pretty good season with the ball, as the Afghanistan pacer took 11 wickets in the eight matches he played in the IPL 2023. He played for the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL and became a household name after his heated argument with Virat Kohli. It happened when Royal Challengers Bangalore were taking on the home team at BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, and the former bowled out the home team LSG for 108 runs, winning the match by 18 runs, but the ugly verbal fight between the teams happened post-match; even LSG’s mentor, Gautam Gambhir, jumped in, and then there were heated exchanges between him and Virat Kohli.

As of now, Naveen-ul-Haq  is playing in the T20 blast in England; he is representing the Leicestershire Foxes. The right-handed pacer is known for his ability to bowl a variety of balls; he is good at changing the pace quickly, and he plays a crucial role in Afghanistan’s team in T20 matches. He also played some ODI matches, but he is being utilized more by his team in T20s.