I was the bad boy of Indian cricket after Koffee with Karan controversy – Hardik

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya had to go through a lot after he made sexist comments on the TV show Koffee with Karan. Apart from facing criticism from the fans, the governing body of Indian cricket suspended him along with KL Rahul for an indefinite period. He had to hide and was made to learn the lesson a hard way. Hardik also lost endorsement deals and the people started to troll him.

Pandya admitted that those times were hard and it was not easy to come to terms. He used to cry a lot while practicing at Bengaluru.

“At the Chinnaswamy [Bengaluru], while practicing, I was missing the ball by this much (shows a wide gap). Because when this is not right (points to head) and when you question yourself, things just go wrong. That day I cried during training because there was a lot of emotion. Because of how I was portrayed [after the talk-show incident]. I was never that individual. I was not able to concentrate on my sport because there was a lot of expectation from myself, leave anyone else.”

However, he performed exceptionally well after his ban was lifted by the national cricket board. The right-handed batter is set to represent India in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE.