Former Indian opening batter Gautam Gambhir has clarified his bonding with Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni amid rumors of rift. The 41-year-old, a two-time World-Cup winner, revealed that he shares cordial relations with both Dhoni and Kohli as the fights are limited only to the field and they take nothing outside.
Gambhir and Kohli were involved in a verbal during an IPL 2023 game regarding the latter's altercation with Naveen-ul-Haq. The trio copped hefty fines following that match. There have also been alleged rumoured rift between him and former captain MS Dhoni; however, nothing concrete has emerged.
Gambhir stated that his fight with none of the past or present cricketers is personal as what happens on the field, stays there.
"See normally I don’t explain my relationships. This question has been asked to me regarding MS Dhoni too - How is my relation with MS Dhoni? I share the same relation with MS Dhoni as it’s with Virat Kohli. My fight with Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni or any other player isn’t personal. My fight is limited to the field. We both want to win. And it should stay on the field," he told News18.

Gautam Gambhir says India is not a team-obsessed nation:
Following India's WTC final loss to Australia, Gambhir pointed out that individuals get special treatment in India and have become bigger than the team itself. He explained:
"Our country is not team obsessed, it’s individually obsessed. We count individuals bigger than our team. In other countries like England, Australia, and New Zealand, the team is bigger and not the individual India needs to come out of this hero worship, whether it’s Indian cricket or Indian politics. We have to stop worshiping heroes and should only worship Indian cricket. It has been a reality in India and players have gone on to become bigger than the Indian cricket itself."
India came out on day five, hoping to get another 280 runs, but lost the remaining seven wickets in the first session to lose by 209 runs.