The controversy erupted back in 2019 when Rahul and his teammate Hardik Pandya, while interacting with Bollywood director and talk show host Karan Johar, made some comments that were seen in a bad light about women, leading to a barrage of trolling on social media and the players being suspended from the team for the three matches ahead of an ODI series against Australia. Notably, the two players were in Australia when the controversy erupted, forcing them to abandon the ODI series and return to India prematurely.
Sharing his experience in a podcast with Nikhil Kamath, Rahul said, “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… 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. That was my first, and then you realise how bad it is” Rahul added
The wicket-keeper batter was last seen playing for India during the ODI series against Sri Lanka where he could not showcase his mettle in the 2 matches and was replaced with Rishabh Pant in the last encounter. The player is currently preparing for the Duleep Trophy 2024 season in a bid to make his way into the Indian Test squad for the upcoming Bangladesh series. Pacer Mohammed Shami was also expected to make a comeback in that series but reports suggest that he might only be fit in time for the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
