'Nothing but love...' - Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya end rift speculations with heartfelt stories for each other

The social media was filled with speculations of a rift between MI skipper Hardik Pandya and his GT counterpart Shubman Gill on Friday. It all ignited after MI defeated GT by 20 runs in the IPL 2025’s eliminator clash to secure a spot in the tournament’s second qualifier.

The speculated reasons behind the rumoured rift between two Indian cricketing stars were probably a few awkward moments between them on the field. It started with a missed handshake at the time of the toss before the game. It was taken by the social media users as a deliberate action by Shubman Gill.

However, Gill finally broke the silence and ended the entire round of speculations with a special Instagram story for Hardik Pandya, including a photograph with the latter.

“Nothing but love. (Don't believe everything you see on the internet),” wrote Gill in his Instagram story, alongside tagging Hardik Pandya in it.

Here’s a look at Shubman Gill’s Instagram story:

Just a few hours after Gill’s Instagram story, Hardik Pandya didn’t take too much time to reshare it on his Instagram handle, with a heartfelt caption, “Always Shubhu baby (with a kiss and red heart emoji).”

Here’s a look at Hardik Pandya’s Instagram story:

MI to face Punjab Kings in second qualifier

Now, after defeating GT by 8 wickets in the eliminator, Hardik’s MI will face the Punjab Kings in the second qualifier of the tournament. The winning side of the second qualifier will face RCB in the tournament’s final on Tuesday, June 3, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Speaking of the action of the eliminator between MI and GT, the Mumbai Indians skipper won the toss and decided to bat first. Batting first, they posted a big total of 228 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in the allotted 20 overs, owing to the blistering knock of former skipper Rohit Sharma, who scored 81 runs off just 50 balls, with nine fours and four sixes.

While defending the target, the MI bowlers restricted the Gujarat Titans to a score of 208 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the entire 20 overs, to win the game by 20 runs.