From Harbhajan-Dhoni to Kapil-Gavaskar: Looking at four instances of rifts between Indian teammates

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh recently admitted that he is no longer on speaking terms with MS Dhoni. The pair played a majority of their illustrious international career playing together, famously winning the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup.

Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni

Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni have been responsible for some of the most iconic moments in the history of Indian cricket. Dhoni was at the non-striker’s end when Yuvraj smashed six sixes in an over in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Yuvraj was at the non-striker’s end when Dhoni hit the winning six in the final of the 2011 World Cup. Dhoni was the captain of the Indian teams that won both those titles, and Yuvraj was the player of the tournament on both occasions. And yet, there have been reports of Yuvraj feeling that he didn’t get adequate support from Dhoni as he made his return to international after recovering from cancer post the 2011 World Cup. Yuvraj himself admitted in the years since he retired in 2020 that his relationship with Dhoni was primarily about cricket and nothing else.

Harbhajan Singh and MS Dhoni

Harbhajan is another player who was pivotal to India winning the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup. In fact, Harbhajan’s success with Dhoni also extended to the time when the latter was captain of the Indian Test team as well, something that wasn’t quite the case for Yuvraj. Harbhajan also played under Dhoni for CSK in the IPL. However, the former spinner has now revealed that he hasn’t spoken with Dhoni for about a decade. “No, I don’t speak to Dhoni. When I was playing at CSK, that’s when we spoke, but otherwise, we haven’t spoken. It’s been 10 years and more. I have no reason; perhaps he does. I don’t know what the reasons are. When we were playing in the IPL at CSK, that’s when we used to talk, and that, too, was restricted to the ground. After that, he did not come to my room, nor did I go to his,” the legendary India spinner said in a conversation with News18.

Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli

Vinod Kambli’s tragic fall is something that has come to the limelight once again. Among the new details that have come up, it seems quite clear that Sachin Tendulkar, just as many other cricketers, may have given up on helping Kambli. The pair grew up as prodigies training under the legendary coach Ramakant Achrekar, even famously sharing a 664-run partnership in a school match. Kambli had to wait three more years than Tendulkar but when he did, he took the cricket world by storm. He still holds the record for fastest Indian to 1000 Test runs, getting there in just 14 innings – one less than the legendary Don Bradman. However, inconsistency set in and tales of indiscipline have also been abound of the left-handed batter and he never played more than 17 Tests. Kambli’s health has declined at an alarming rate in recent years and former cricketer Balvinder Singh Sandhu had said recently that while a number of cricketers, including Tendulkar, tried to help him out but Kambli himself has sabotaged those efforts multiple times. It is to be noted, though, that Tendulkar himself could be seen approaching Kambli and greeting him at a recent memorial event for Achrekar, with the latter seemingly struggling to recognise him at first.

Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev

Two pioneering figures in the history of Indian cricket, both Gavaskar and Kapil have said in the years since the end of their illustrous carers that issues between them were blown out of proportion. Kapil had replaced Gavaskar as captain of the Indian team after their rather disastrous tour of Pakistan in 1982/83. This was followed by Kapil famous leading India to their first World Cup win in 1983. However, Kapil was soon sacked as captain and the position was handed back to Gavaskar and that is how it stood when England toured India in 1984/85. The story goes that Gavaskar was very unhappy with the kind of innings Kapil played in the second Test in Delhi, which England won by eight wickets. Kapil was subsequently dropped for the third Test in Kolkata. Gavaskar, however, said in the years since that he had nothing to do with the legendary all-rounder being dropped. “When Kapil was dropped for one Test, the Calcutta encounter between India and David Gower’s Englishmen in the 1984-85 series, the blame was conveniently put on me. But the truth of the matter is that his being dropped from the team was not proposed by me as the late Hanumant Singh, who was a member of the selection committee then, attested in an article he wrote a year later,” Gavaskar wrote in Sportstar. “Whatever I might be, I am not stupid when it comes to cricket and I wasn’t going to suggest dropping my one match-winner and game-changer and thereby reduce India’s chances of winning even further. However, as a part of the selection committee, albeit without a vote, I was collectively responsible for the decision,” he further said. Both Gavaskar and Kapil have been vocal about their admiration for each other in the time since their playing careers ended as well.