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KL Rahul became embroiled in one of the most infamous controversies in recent Indian cricket history when he and star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya appeared on the popular talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’ hosted by Karan Johar in 2019. Comments made by the star cricketers during the episode sparked widespread backlash, forcing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take action. Both players were suspended from Team India as a result. At the time of the episode's airing in January 2019, the team was on tour to Australia, and both Rahul and Pandya had to return to India prematurely.
Although the suspension was lifted within a few days, allowing both players to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and be part of India's 2019 Cricket World Cup Squad, KL Rahul has now opened up about the incident. He admitted that the controversy significantly impacted his personality and left a lasting scar.
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KL Rahul opens up on infamous ‘Koffee with Karan’ interview
On a podcast with Nikhil Kamath on his YouTube channel featuring Kriti Sannon and Badshah, Rahul began by discussing how trolling has started to affect him, which wasn't the case when he was younger and starting his career. At this point, the host asked Rahul if the controversy surrounding his appearance on "Koffee with Karan" was a contributing factor. Rahul responded by stating that while he wasn't specifically referring to that incident, the repercussions of the controversy had a significant impact on him.
"The interview was a different world. That changed me. Completely changed me. I was a very soft-spoken person growing up. Then I played for India and became very confident. People will know 1 have been in a room of 100 people. Now I don't because that interview scarred me massively. Getting suspended from the team. I have never been suspended in school, punished in school. I don't know how to handle it. I did mischief in schools but nothing to get me expelled from school or my parents have come," said Rahul.
KL Rahul gearing up for Duleep Trophy 2024
Rahul is now gearing up for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2024 which is slated to start from September 5. The star Indian batter hopes to make a comeback to the Test squad for the series against Bangladesh, New Zealand and then Border-Gavaskar Trophy after missing the last four Tests against England earlier this year due to injury. Rahul has not played any T20Is for India since the 2022 T20 World Cup and missed India's victorious T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. He was a key member of the Indian team that reached the 2023 World Cup final, but his place in the ODI team has come under scrutiny in recent months. He was dropped from the playing XI for the third ODI against Sri Lanka earlier this month.
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