KL Rahul Says KWK Chat with Hardik Pandya Changed Him Completely: 'Getting Suspended from the Team...'

Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul’s Koffee with Karan episode with Karan Johar in 2019 was taken off Disney+ Hotstar after their ‘inappropriate’ remarks caused a storm. Now, KL Rahul, the Indian cricketer, has spilled the beans on the controversy during his chat on WTF is with Nikhil Kamath.

The Team India cricketer shared that the interview changed him completely. “The interview was a different world. That changed me. Completely changed me. I was a very shy, soft-spoken boy growing up. Then I played for India and became very confident, I had no problem being in a huge group of people. People will know I have been in a room of 100 people because I would talk to everyone,” KL Rahul said.

KL Rahul revealed that being suspended from the Indian cricket team after the controversy was a huge shock. “Now I don’t (do that) because that (KWK) interview scarred me massively. Getting suspended from the team. I have never been suspended in school, I have never been punished in school. Matlab woh huya hee nahi hai mere saath (All this never happened to me). I don’t know how to handle it. I did mischievous things in schools like chota mota (small things), but nothing to get me expelled from school or my parents have had to come. That (KWK interview and subsequent backlash) was my first (fall), and then you realise how bad it is,” he recalled.

The Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul Koffee with Karan episode sparked a massive controversy in 2019 that shook the cricketing world and beyond. The cricketers appeared on the show hosted by Karan Johar, where Hardik’s brash comments about women, boasting about his sexual encounters, and his alleged “sexist” shocked viewers and sparked a nationwide outrage. His remarks were widely condemned as misogynistic and sexist, leading to severe backlash not just from the public but also from the cricketing authorities. The BCCI took swift action, suspending both players from the Indian cricket team and issuing show-cause notices. The scandal had far-reaching consequences, with both players facing the possibility of missing major tournaments, and it left a lasting stain on their careers.

On the personal front, Hardik Pandya’s divorce with wife Natasa Stankovic is making headlines, while KL Rahul is married to Bollywood actress Athiya Shetty. Hardik is now rumoured to be dating British singer Jasmin Walia. KL Rahul’s retirement rumours are also in the news as speculations mount.