Stung by a barrage of criticism, retired Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist denied calling Sachin Tendulkar a 'bad sport' and a 'liar' in his upcoming autobiography, claiming that he was misinterpreted by the media.

Gilchrist said all is well between him and Tendulkar after he rang up the Indian batting maestro to explain how excerpts from his autobiography had been quoted out of context by newspapers. He said the conversation with Tendulkar has left him a relieved man.

"There were headlines around the cricketing globe on Friday suggesting that I had accused Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar of being a bad sport and also that he had lied when giving evidence in the Harbhajan Singh racial vilification hearing earlier this year.

"Neither of these accusations are true and I felt strongly enough on this to immediately ring Sachin once it was brought to my attention, to explain to him. I am pleased to say that at the conclusion of our chat, the same respect Sachin and I have always had for each other continues to exist," Gilchrist said.

Rattled by the furore that has virtually turned into a backlash in India ever since the controversial excerpts came out, Gilchrist said a couple of sentences from an entire chapter were used to script a sensational story.

"The headlines arose from the manner in which some journalists interpreted a couple of points I have made in an about-to-be released autobiography," he said in a column for and Indian English daily.

"In the book I mention that a cultural difference between our team and that of the Indians was the importance of shaking hands with the opposition after a loss. From my experience it seemed this routine wasn't as important to some oppositions as it was in Australia, where it is drilled into us from an early age," Gilchrist explained.

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