‘There is no point in feeling sorry’: Naveen-ul-Haq on injury setbacks and his chat with Gambhir

Twenty minutes before the opening T20I against India during the recently concluded three-match series in Delhi in September, Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq was left shattered. He had been hoping to make an international comeback against India after more than two years, having recovered from a shoulder injury. However, a recurrence of the injury rendered him unfit just before the series began.

"It was shattering," Naveen told Cricbuzz recently. "Just 20 minutes before the toss (against India during the opening T20I) the first injury flared up."

"When you've been working on your fitness, shoulder rehab, rebuilding for nine months, and then when you are minutes away from the first match after nine months… and after almost two years since I played for Afghanistan. It's quite challenging. You have so much patience, you work so hard, you come out of all these hardships, rehab, and loneliness, and then just 20 minutes before the toss, you get this setback again."

Acceptance over regret

Naveen said he has come to accept the realities of fast bowling. "As I said before, this is life now, I chose cricket, and within that, I chose fast bowling. So it won't be a surprise that there won't be injuries or surgeries or rehab. There are very few fast bowlers, or perhaps none at all, who haven't had surgery, rehab, or repeated injuries. So I will accept it, and I will keep on moving. There is no point in looking back and feeling sorry."

"I didn't play because I didn't want to take a risk. I felt something (in my shoulder), so I withdrew," he added.

A long road back

Naveen has not played for Afghanistan in two years, or any professional cricket since December 2025. His career has been on pause following a stress injury in his right shoulder, which ruled him out of this year's T20 World Cup. The stress fracture healed within eight to ten weeks, but his recovery was prolonged after a second surgery for labrum repair, as the shoulder capsule had to be tightened.

"As a cricketer, as a professional athlete, as a fast bowler, you have to accept all these things with the glamour and traveling and luxurious life. It's part and parcel of being a professional cricketer so you have to accept it and be mentally prepared that you might miss different leagues, miss the World Cup, Asia Cup and all that stuff."

Naveen, who is 27, said he still has seven to eight years of high-level cricket in him. "Till 34 to 35, it's your peak time, and then you can just hang up your boots and say that's it, that's my time. But for those six to seven years that I want to play, I need to work hard and I need to suffer from all this. It is what it is now and I can't just sit at home and feel sorry for myself."

Gambhir's support

Naveen revealed that Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, who coached him at Lucknow in the IPL, reached out after the third T20 against India. "After the third T20 against India, I was on the ground sitting alone. I spoke to GG (Gautam Gambhir) Sir about it (injury) after he asked me what had happened and why I didn't play."

"GG bhai was our coach in Lucknow in the IPL, and to be really honest, it helped me quite a lot to have that 20-25 minutes of chat with him. I opened up to him about my thinking at that point and how it was affecting me, of coming back after nine months and then suddenly getting injured again. That chat helped me to not dwell on my problems and feel sorry for myself. That chat changed my perspective of how to rebuild again and go again."

No rush to return

Naveen said he is not chasing a place in the side. "I trust my skills, I know what I am capable of... For me, it doesn't matter if I come and prove myself to someone. I will give my all in my rehab and my rebuilding. Even if I am not picked, it is not the end of the world for me."

He has set no timeline for his comeback. "I need to have 100-120 percent assurance on my fitness, on my shoulder. Only then will I make a comeback so that I don't have to hear anyone say, 'What's his fitness level? Will his shoulder pop out or not?'"

"Life has taught me that one day you will have a great game, and the second day you will have a very bad game. So you have to keep yourself level-headed. Here are going to be ups and downs," he concluded.