GT vs MI, IPL 2025 Eliminator: Shubman Gill BREAKS silence on ‘ego battle’ with Hardik Pandya

Following the Gujarat Titans' elimination from IPL 2025 by the Mumbai Indians, rumors of a rift between captains Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya surfaced due to on-field interactions. Gill later dismissed these rumors on social media. 

Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill

Image Credit: Getty

Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill addressed the rumours around his rift with Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya after the IPL 2025 Eliminator at the new Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium in Mullanpur on Friday, May 31.

Gujarat Titans’ campaign in the IPL 2025 came to an end after being eliminated from the tournament by Mumbai Indians. With a mammoth target of 229, GT failed to chase down the target as they were restricted to 208/6, falling 21 runs short of achieving the target. Sai Sudharsan played a brilliant innings of 80 off 49 balls, while Washington Sundar stepped up with a fiery knock of 48 off 24 balls. However, their efforts went in vain as the Gujarat Titans fell short in the high-scoring chase.

‘Ego clashes’ between Gill and Hardik

Before the first ball of the crucial clash was bowled, the buzz around the stadium and social media was speculated by an ‘ego battle’ between Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya. The chatter began during the toss itself. After Hardik won the toss, the MI skipper reached out for the customary handshake, but Gill ignored it, seemingly asking him to move on with the presentation. However, the GT skipper extended his hand earlier, and Hardik eventually walked out for the post-toss presentation.

This did not end here. During the Gujarat Titans’ run chase, Shubman Gill was dismissed by Trent Boult, but took a DRS review for his LBW. Mumbai Indians’ already begun their celebrations, and skipper Pandya charged past Gill by shouting ‘Come on!’ as his teammates swarmed around him.

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These instances between Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya were labeled as a ‘battle of ego’ by fans and netizens, as the tensions between the two seemed palpable both before and during the match, fuelling further speculation about an underlying rift.

After the match, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya had customary handshakes, but there was no visible exchange of words between the two, sparking speculations about their rift.

Gill puts speculation of the rift with Hardik to rest

As the speculated rift between Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya seemed to have overshadowed post-match discussions, the Gujarat Titans skipper finally put the rumours of ‘battle of ego’ to rest.

Taking to his Instagram story, Shubman Gill posted a two-picture collage featuring him and Hardik Pandya and urged everyone not to blindly believe everything on social media.

“Nothing but love (Don’t believe everything you see on the internet).” Gill wrote.

Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya are Indian teammates who played a pivotal role in Team India’s triumph at the Champions Trophy this year, defeating New Zealand in the final.

Meanwhile, the Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians will take on Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad for a spot in the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The five-time IPL champions finished in fourth place in the league stage and secured their spot for the playoffs. Mumbai Indians made a brilliant comeback from one win in four matches to winning six matches on the trot.

Mumbai Indians are aiming for a record-breaking sixth IPL title as they continue their remarkable resurgence under Hardik Pandya’s leadership and are hoping to carry their momentum into Qualifier 2 against Punjab Kings on Sunday, June 1.