Reports about a possible rift between Gautam Gambhir and Indian limited overs captain MS Dhoni have been quelled by the opener.
Gambhir had previously tweeted that Indian army personnel who had died as martyrs during the Uri attack were more deserving of a biopic than any cricketer.
These 17 martyrs deserv a biopic rather dan any cricketer. No better inspiration dan a young man sacrificing his life 4 his country.
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) September 19, 2016
The statement was considered a dig at Dhoni, whose biopic was slated to release a few days later. Although Gambhir later clarified that his tweet had nothing to do with Dhoni, there remained a notion that both cricketers weren’t exactly seeing eye to eye.
However, during a Facebook interaction on Monday, the Delhi batsman once again mentioned that there is no rivalry between the two. He further added that Dhoni is a “fantastic player and a fantastic human being”.
“There’s no rivalry between me and Dhoni,” said Gambhir. “I feel whenever we’ve played for India, irrespective of the differences of opinions we’ve had, the ultimate aim to make has been to try and make the country proud and try and help our country win.
“There are bound be differences in opinion that happens in any sphere of life, if you are in a group, be it in a family or anywhere else, but until the time your goal is to make your country proud, I don’t think there will ever be any differences. I think he’s (Dhoni) a fantastic player, a fantastic human being.”
Gambhir also spoke about how Dhoni and him had been a part of each other’s most memorable moments together. In India’s victorious campaigns at the ICC World T20 in 2007 and in the ICC World Cup in 2011, Dhoni was the captain while Gambhir top-scored in both finals for India.
In the 2011 final, the duo added 109 runs for the fourth wicket – a partnership that played a big role in India lifting their first 50-over World Cup in 28 years.
“We’ve had our best moments of our life together, whether it’s winning the World T20 in 2007 or the World Cup in 2011, being No. 1 Test side in the world. Our ambition and our goal has always been the same,” Gambhir added.
