The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024 is set to begin on Thursday, August 29, with the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons facing the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. The Barbados Royals will start their campaign against the Falcons in their fourth match of the season at the same venue.
Ahead of the CPL opener, the Barbados Royals have generated buzz with a viral video featuring Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who will represent the Royals this season. The video, shared on the team’s social media handle X, shows a series of clips involving Virat Kohli, the legendary Indian batsman with whom Naveen has a history from the Indian Premier League (IPL).
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The video includes a segment featuring American YouTuber Darren Jason Watkins Jr., known as IShowSpeed, discussing an IPL controversy involving Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, who was the Lucknow Super Giants mentor in IPL 2023. The clip also includes an image of Kohli being honoured by the Indian government for his cricketing achievements.
He was also taunted by England’s Test captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes before speaking to room service at his hotel room.
During the call, Naveen inquires about the TV channel for watching the CPL and is playfully told to tune into channel 18, which corresponds to Kohli’s jersey number. Annoyed by the ongoing pranks, Naveen is heard saying, "Bas karo yaar, ab kuch to naya dhoondo (Stop it, guys, now find something new)." The video has gone viral on social media.
Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq settled their differences during the ODI World Cup 2023 in India, where Kohli had hugged Naveen and asked fans to stop booing him during a match in Delhi.
The Barbados Royals’ squad for CPL 2024 includes Rovman Powell (captain), Alick Athanaze, Rivaldo Clarke (wk), Quinton de Kock (wk), David Miller, Kevin Wickham, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jason Holder, Kadeem Alleyne, Keshav Maharaj, Obed McCoy, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ramon Simmonds, Maheesh Theekshana, Isai Thorne, Nyeem Young, and Nathan Sealy.
