Naveen-ul-Haq, Who Started Spat Between Virat Kohli And Gautam Gambhir In IPL 2023, To Play In SA20
Afghan bowler Naveen-ul-Haq, who also plays for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), has been added to the squad of the Durban Super Giants for the next SA20 tournament. Naveen is one of the six players already signed on. Prenelan Subrayen and Quinton de Kock are two of the other cricket players. Two South Africans, right here.
Naveen, alongside Kyle Mayers, Reece Topley, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, is one of four international players already signed before the season begins.
Naveen is an integral part of Afghanistan's white-ball cricket team. LSG acquired him the year before and he bowled brilliantly in the IPL 2023. Not magic, but rather a single controversy catapulted him to fame in India. It was the postgame altercation between LSG and Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). During the game, there was an altercation between Kohli and Naveen.
The ex-RCB captain's annoyance was compounded when Naveen declined to shake hands with him at the handshake ritual. After that, LSG coach Gautam Gambhir got into it with Kohli, and they had a furious exchange of words.
After their physical altercation ended, Kohli, Gambhir, and Naveen still found ways to poke fun at each other online.
MI Cape Town still has R5.05 million in their budget after re-signing last season's captain Rashid Khan and Sam Curran and pre-signing English duo Liam Livingstone and Tom Banton. Jofra Archer will continue to serve as the team's Wildcard player despite not making the main roster.
With an estimated R 8.865 million to spend, the Paarl Royals are hoping to replace four spots on their roster with new players in the next auction. Jos Buttler and Jason Roy of England, as well as West Indian bowler Obed McCoy, are already on their roster. Kwena Maphaka, a promising left-arm quick for the South African U19 team, was signed by the Paarl club before the auction. He is the youngest player to be signed at the age of seventeen.
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape are defending champions who have kept together the bulk of their championship team while bolstering it with international talent like Dawid Malan, Liam Dawson, and Craig Overton (their Wildcard). As a result, they have been reduced to just three selections and a total of R1.865 million to spend at the auction.
Runners-up Pretoria Capitals have more wiggle room with R9.737 million left in the budget to bring their total roster size to 19. It's possible that five of the six players could still be based in foreign countries.
The Joburg Super Kings have R6.1 million left in their player budget and will be looking to sign five new players. In advance of the season, the Johannesburg club signed Moeen Ali, David Wiese, Sam Cook, and Zahir Khan to bolster their roster.