File photo of KL Rahul© X (formerly Twitter)
Indian cricket team star KL Rahul found himself in the middle of a massive controversy after he appeared in the popular TV show "Koffee With Karan" along with teammate Hardik Pandya in 2019. Their comments on the show led to massive backlash and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) even decided to suspended them. The episode aired when both Rahul and Hardik were in Australia as part of the Indian cricket team but they had to return midway due to the controversy. On a podcast with Nikhil Kamath on his Youtube channel featuring Kriti Sannon and Badshah, Rahul opened up about the entire controversy and said that it scarred him. He added that it completed changed him as a person as well.
"I used to be good with trolling. I used to think I don't care. I was much younger back then. Couple of years back, I was exposed to a lot of trolling. If I sat I got trolled, If I stood I got trolled," he said.
"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 I 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," he added.
KL Rahul is currently gearing up for the Duldeep Trophy 2024 and he will be hoping to make a comeback to the Indian cricket team Test squad for the upcoming series against Bangladesh.
There has also been a lot of speculation over whether he will be retained by Lucknow Super Giants for the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) but nothing has been confirmed as of now.