Indian cricketer KL Rahul has opened up regarding the recent storm in his cricketing career that was triggered by his and fellow Indian teammate Hardik Pandya’s sexist comments on a TV show. Reflecting on the incident, he said, “I couldn’t help but doubt my own character”. Both the Indian players had been handed a provisional suspension by the BCCI for their controversial comments on women during that talk show. The case has been handed to the Supreme Court-appointed BCCI Ombudsman by the Committee of Administrators (COA).
The swashbuckling right-handed batsman spoke about what he went through after that incident, which resulted in him being sent back home before the ODI series in Australia. Speaking to India Today, he said, “it was hard as I am not used to people disliking me. For the first one week or 10 days, I couldn't help but doubt myself, doubt my own character. The hardest thing was to know whether actually, you are a bad person when so much has been written about you.”
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With people asking him uncomfortable questions and raising concerns over his character, Rahul had briefly cut himself off socially as he was ‘scared to face’ outsiders.
"I was quite honestly scared to step out as I wasn't ready. If somebody would ask questions, I didn't know what I would answer. I would go for practice, come back home and be on my PlayStation as I wasn't simply ready to face people," the flamboyant batsman added.
He admitted that the glamour and glitz that surrounds the Indian team has briefly left him disconnected with his roots and his well-wishers. "When you start playing for the country, you are so distracted, you are always on the move, forget who your true friends are or how important family is. I have been on the road for a long time and I haven't had a break. So, you kind of have a disconnect with family or friends. You kind of drift away, don't make time for friends," he said.
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He opined that there was a point when he felt that those who were physically there with him were his real friends. "You share a lot with them but you forget that there are people back home, who have seen your struggles, seen you when you were nothing. They have helped you because they liked the real you. You rediscover your relationships with a lot of people," he said.
Rahul was also thankful to the Indian team members and the support staff who were there with him during this rough patch. "Even when I had to leave Australia and go back home, there were a lot of people who came up to me and put an arm around the shoulder and said 'It's okay, we have all been there and we have all made mistakes, and we have all had to face punishments in whatever way'."
The Indian Cricket team senior members had one advice for him: "Try to keep aside the hatred that you are receiving from social media and don't doubt yourself. So much has been said by people, that you start questioning yourself. But then family, friends, teammates, checked up on me as to what I was going through."
Rahul will be hoping to put that dark chapter behind him, and will hope to make amends for it in the cricketing world in the upcoming times.
