Didn't Like My Father Giving Interview: Hardik Pandya On Koffee With Karan controversy

The first few months was nothing less than a disaster for India allrounder Hardik Pandya. At the start of 2019, both Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul had landed in hot water for their controversial comments on the chat show. The comments were deemed sexist and misogynistic by many and the two cricketers soon faced repercussions.

Both Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were asked to return home from the Australia tour and were also suspended. Their World Cup participation was also in doubt but the BCCI ombudsman gave them a big respite by not suspending them. The ombudsman instead directed KL Rahul & Hardik Pandya to pay Rs 1,00,000 each to families of 10 constables in para-military forces who lost their lives on duty. He also directed the duo to pay Rs 10,00,000 in the fund created by Cricket Association for the blind for promotion of game for the blind.

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Hardik Pandya returned to action during the tour of New Zealand and did not take long to impress with the bat and ball. Almost a year after that incident, Hardik Pandya talked about that and recalled how he did not leave his house for ten days. He also said that he did not like his father giving an interview during that time.

“I still remember I did not step out of my house. Unknowingly my father gave an interview as well which was actually a fact which I didn’t like because I don’t like to go out and say things. It took me a week or 10 days to just realise that this is not it. You have to step out and face the things than just being in your cocoon,” Hardik Pandya told India Today.

“I just then realised that this is kind of an exam that is coming at a difficult phase which you have to get through. I then shifted my focus to my game completely and forgot what happened whether I was going to be suspended for 6 months or coming back in the next game. I had no idea, it was just rumours.

“But then I went back to the basics that I learned during my early years — you control things which you can control. So I knew that things which are happening outside my this thing things that I don’t have control at all. The things that were in my control was my practice, my work ethics and how seriously I took things. The one thing I knew is that I just know my cricket,” he added.

Hardik Pandya, meanwhile, has been ruled out of the upcoming India A’s tour of New Zealand after he failed the fitness test. He has been replaced in the team by Vijay Shankar.