Former Team India batter Shikhar Dhawan, who currently serves as the Super Mentor on Amazon MX Player’s fitness-based reality series Battleground, has weighed in on the recent spat between team leaders Rubina Dilaik and Asim Riaz on the show.

“There was a moment recently when one mentor crossed a line, and I gently encouraged them to apologize. It’s about creating a balance and letting them be themselves but also stepping in if I feel something needs to be addressed. I don’t shy away from that,” Dhawan said in a statement, which comes shortly after Rubina Dilaik’s husband Abhinav Shukla’s claim that he received a death threat.

Shukla had called out Riaz for making a disrespectful comment about Dilaik on the show. Soon after Shukla’s remarks, the actor allegedly received an Instagram DM from a user named Ankush Gupta. Sharing a screenshot of the message on X (formerly Twitter) on April 20, Abhinav revealed that the sender claimed to be a member of Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang.

Riaz, however, dismissed the threat as “fake” and accused Shukla of seeking attention by getting involved in the situation.

Dhawan also spoke about the importance of team spirit in a show like Battleground. “If there’s one thing that cricket has taught me, it’s that consistency, discipline, and thinking big are non-negotiable...The results won’t always go your way, you’ll fail sometimes, but what defines a champion is the ability to get back up and keep moving forward,” said the 39-year-old former cricketer.

Battleground is a high-octane reality show that pushes contestants to their physical and mental limits. The contestants are led by four judges — Asim Riaz, Rajat Dalal, Rubina Dilaik and Abhishek Malhan. At the core of the action is Super Mentor Shikhar Dhawan.