Is Naveen Ul Haq Indian: Why Did The Afghanistan pacer Support Team India While Growing Up?

Only a couple of days after turning 17, fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq had made it to the Afghanistan’s National team, making his debut in an ODI against Bangladesh in 2016.

The right-arm pacer was born on September 23, 1999, in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul. Akin most South Asian families, the one in which Naveen grew up was also averse to the idea of considering cricket as a career option.

However, the burning sensation of making a mark for himself in life, coupled with the constant support of his elder brother did help him convince their father. Not much later, he did get the feel of the leather ball for the first time in his hand, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Is Naveen Ul Haq Indian?

No. Born and brought up in Afghanistan, Naveen-ul-Haq is well and truly an Afghan national. The child prodigy that he always was, Naveen had first represented his country at the age of mere 11, when he played for Afghanistan Under-16 team.

However, the now 23-year-old had spent his early childhood days seeking refuge in Afghanistan due to the never-ending political tensions in the country.

It was only after he returned back home from Pakistan, that his cricket journey began – with the tape ball in hand. This was the period when the Afghanistan National Cricket team was yet to be assigned even the status of an associate nation by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Why Did The Afghanistan pacer Support Team India While Growing Up?

With no role models from his own country growing up, it was the Indian Cricket team operating on the field, which made Naveen fall in love with the sport.

During an interaction with The Cricketer a couple of years ago, Naveen claimed to have never missed a match featuring India. In fact, the Afghan pacer used to love watching Indian pacers namely S Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan bowl.

“Whenever India were playing, I would watch the match. That is where my passion and love for cricket started. My mother and father wouldn’t let us play cricket on the weekdays but at the weekend we could play tape-ball cricket outside our home for an hour or two.”

A regular feature these days in the Afghanistan team, the right-arm pacer is also a renowned name in the various T20 leagues around the world in the Pakistan Super League, Lanka Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League, Caribbean Premier League, Vitality Blast, and most recently in the Indian Premier League.