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Shubman Gill dismissed rumors of a rift with Hardik Pandya after their IPL 2025 Eliminator clash. Gill stated they share “nothing but love” despite viral videos suggesting tension.
Hardik Pandya (left) and Shubman Gill were seen interacting awkwardly on Friday (BCCI Photo)
India Test captain Shubman Gill has rubbished the rumors of his rift with senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya after the duo clashed as captains of Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians respectively in the IPL 2025 Eliminator on Friday. After videos of their alleged ‘cold shoulder’ to each other at the toss and aggression during the match went viral, Gill took to social media after his side’s 20-run loss to say that they shared ‘nothing but love’.
Using his Instagram story as the medium, Gill posted two photos with Pandya — one seemingly after the toss, with the duo posing for the camera together, and another of them celebrating together in India’s Blue. Gill tagged the MI skipper and wrote, ‘Nothing but love. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.’ He also put a heart emoji for good measure, attempting to end the gossip once and for all.
The grapevine started to buzz after a video from the toss went viral on social media. In it, both Pandya and Gill were seen putting their hands out for a shake, but not going ahead with it completely. Later, when Gill got out in the first innings, Pandya celebrated aggressively and on his face. Broadcasters joined in the fun, too, replaying the clips several times and suggesting that there could be some tension between the two.
Watch an example of the several viral clips here:
Soon after, Pandya reposted this story too, with the caption, ‘Always Shubhu Baby’ and a couple of emojis.
The notion of this ‘tension’ that people are speaking about is rooted in Pandya’s famous trade to MI. The all-rounder was GT’s first-ever captain in 2022 and led them to an unprecedented debut year title, followed by another final in 2023.
In 2024, he was traded back to MI, who scouted and brought him to the IPL, and young Gill was made the captain. Under him, GT’s first season didn’t go well as they finished eighth among the 10 teams. This year, they were one of the best teams in the group stages and Gill’s captaincy success seemed to have played a role in his Test promotion, too, but a stack of losses in the business end finished their campaign in the Eliminator.
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