New Delhi, March 27
KL Rahul, who had been caught in a storm of controversy triggered by his and Hardik Pandya’s sexist comments and “loose talk” on women during a TV interview in January, has spoken about how the episode affected him.
“I couldn’t help but doubt myself, doubt my own character,” KL Rahul said in a magazine interview as he tried to analyse the controversy and work to rehabilitate his public image, which was badly affected by the comments he had made.
His controversial interview with Pandya was aired when the two were in Australia with the Indian team, and they were suspended and sent back to India. Rahul spoke about what he endured after returning to India.
‘Am I bad?’
“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,” Rahul said. “The hardest thing was to know whether actually you are a bad person, when so much has been written about you.”
Rahul and Pandya were also provisionally suspended by the Indian cricket board (BCCI), and an inquiry into the controversy is being handled by BCCI’s Ombudsman. “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,” Rahul said. “I would go for practice, come back home and be on my Playstation as I wasn’t simply ready to face people.”
Starry distractions
He admitted that the glamour and razzmatazz that surrounds the cricket team had 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,” he said. “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 he began to feel that the people who were physically present around with him were his true 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,” Rahul said. “They have helped you because they liked the real you. You rediscover your relationships with a lot of people.”
He said the Indian team members and support staff supported him in trying times. The senior players had one advice for him: “Try to keep aside the hatred that you are receiving from social media and don’t doubt yourself.” — PTI
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2HSq4Lb
via Today’s News Headlines
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