India international KL Rahul has admitted his suspension from the team in 2019 following a controversial interview on a talk show 'scarred him massively'.

India international KL Rahul has admitted his suspension from the team in 2019 following a controversial interview on a talk show 'scarred him massively'.

The interview in question was an episode of Koffee with Karan, a popular Indian television show. Rahul appeared on the show alongside teammate Hardik Pandya, who made a few comments on the show which were deemed to be sexist and/or misogynistic.

After clips of the interview received significant backlash on social media, the BCCI took the measure of suspending both players – by then fairly established internationals – from national team duty. The pair were also fined a sum of INR 20 lakh each before they could return to the team.

KL Rahul: I used to be good with handling trolling

Speaking on Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath's YouTube channel, Rahul opened up on that phase of his career, and the social media scrutiny that has come since. "I used to be good with [handling] trolling," he said. "I didn't care, but I feel I was much younger back then. In my twenties, I really didn't give a shit. And then, a couple of years back, I was exposed to a lot of trolling. If I sat, I got trolled, if I stood, I got trolled.

"The [Koffee With Karan] interview was a different world altogether. That changed me. I was a very shy, soft-spoken boy growing up. And then I played for India, and for the next three-four years, I became very confident. I had no problem being a huge group of people. People would know I have been in a room with 100 people, because I would talk to everyone.

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"Now I don't, because the interview scarred me massively. Getting suspended from the team... I have never been suspended in school, never been punished. It just never happened to know how to handle it."

Rahul's recent form in the IPL has been the subject of criticism from fans and experts, with his batting often coming under the scanner for being overly cautious, especially in an age where run rates are skyrocketing. He was also panned on social media after the 2023 World Cup final, with many fans of the opinion that his knock of 66 off 107 balls contributed heavily to India putting up a below-par total.

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