KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya were caught in massive controversy during the beginning of the year for their comments on Karan Johar’s show, ‘Koffee With Karan’. The BCCI took action against both the cricketers, keeping them out for the series against Australia and India’s tour of New Zealand.
Eventually, the board lifted the suspension off both the players and they were selected for the World Cup squad.
The episode, however, had a deep effect on Rahul, and in an interview with The Times of India, the Indian batsman bared it all on what transpired in the immediate aftermath of the controversy.
“I won’t lie. I was bitter for a bit; it affected and bothered me a lot,” Rahul told TOI.
“I was angry, but I came out of it all as a more accepting person. I understood that certain things are sensitive, and no matter what you do, certain people will find the bad in you.”
The Karnataka batsman, however, insisted that the episode made him focus more on cricket and gave him a direction on what he needed to do.
“I need to focus more on cricket, spend more time in the gym, on the field — practising and training. It made me more focussed on my profession and what I really need to do. As I told you before, cricket is the only thing I am good at and there’s nothing else I can do to survive, so I need to give it all I have,” he said.
Talking about Hardik Pandya, Rahul revealed that the duo didn’t talk to each other during the entirety of the controversy, but stated that they continue to remain good friends.
“It was hard for both of us. We did speak to each other about it while this whole process was on (investigation). He was with his family and friends and I was with my people.
“We switched off from the outside world for those few weeks. We learnt from the situation, accepted it, and now we are back to being good friends. We literally spend 300 days together... travelling and playing cricket. Hardik is still a good friend and we enjoy each other’s company.”
