Veteran Rahul Dravid denied any rift with Sachin Tendulkar after the batting great was forced to miss Tuesday's felicitation ceremony in Mumbai. "People are talking rubbish. Sachin and I are very good friends, and everything is just fine. "He had called me up on Monday to inform that he won't be able to attend the felicitation programme," Dravid said.

Tendulkar had later clarified that he had to get his toe checked in London before the Indian Premier League got underway. After having recently announced his retirement from all forms of the game, Dravid said cricket still continues to keep him occupied.

"Even the day after I announced my retirement, there wasn't any special feeling at home. Yes, there was a sense of relief, but honestly speaking, I didn't get any time to think about anything else. "IPL was knocking at the door and I had to be busy preparing for it. For me, things haven't really changed," he added.

Dravid said that though the Rajasthan Royals had their preparations in place, he was going to miss having Australian Shane Warne around. "Having Warne in the middle is always a big thing, and he will be missed this time. I personally, will miss his personality.

But, we have a good team this time, and we have been able to keep the same team like last year. So, we are looking forward to a great season ahead," Dravid said. The 39-year-old added that the fifth season of the IPL would also miss Yuvraj Singh but it was important that he recovered completely. "He is dealing with a more important thing. His speedy recovery and fitness is the biggest concern for us now. He is playing the most important innings of his life. We want him to be fit first, cricket can wait," he said.