New Delhi:
Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul’s troubles have mounted after the BCCI issued a showcause notice to the two players for their controversial comments on the TV show Koffee With Karan, hosted by popular Bollywood director Karan Johar. Speaking about the development, Committee of Administrators head Vinod Rai said, “We have sent showcause notices to Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul for their comments. They have been given 24 hours to give an explanation.” The controversy was triggered when Pandya’s comments on women and other remarks were deemed ‘misgynistic’ and ‘racist’ by Twitter and social media users. Pandya has issued an apology about his comments on his official Twitter handle.
The situation came into light with this one conversation when Johar was asking questions about not asking women’s name in a night club and what do men talk about. To this, Pandya replied, “I like to watch and observe how they (women) move. I'm little from the black side so I need to see how they move." Pandya also boasted about how he casually discussed his sex life with his parents. “When I lost my virginity, I came home and said, 'Main karke aya hai aaj (I had sex today)'. At a party my parents asked me 'acha tera wala (women) kaun sa hai [who is your interest here?] so I said yeh, yeh, yeh (pointing out women)' and they were like 'waah proud of you beta',” Pandya replied with laughter.
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During the time when the #MeToo movement is active and sexual harassment is a serious issue which needs to be tackled in all fields, the comments from Pandya did not go down well with Twitter users labeling his comments ‘gross’ and a ‘big disappointment’. In his apology, Pandya has admitted that he got ‘carried away’.
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While Pandya’s comments have drawn plenty of flak, it must be observed that Rahul, who was the other guest in the program, responded with straight answers and showed his dignity. When asked about a situation if both like the same woman , Rahul responded, “It is upto the woman.” Pandya, in turn, responded, “Nahi nahi aisa kuch nahi hai, talent pe hota hai. Jisko mila woh leke jao (No, no, it is nothing like that. It is all on talent. Whoever gets it, take her away). It is on talent."
Not only was Pandya trolled for these comments, he and Rahul were roasted on social media when asked as to who was the better batsman, Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli. Both of them replied Kohli and this did not go down well with many fans on social media.
Pandya missed out on the four-Test series against Australia due to a back injury which he sustained in the Asia Cup in September which sidelined him for close to three months. Pandya played in the Ranji Trophy match between Baroda and Mumbai and put in a solid all-round performance which saw him being picked in the India squad for the Melbourne and Sydney Tests. India achieved history by winning a Test series in Australia for the first time when the final Test was drawn and the series was won 2-1.
India will now take on Australian in three ODIs before embarking on a tour to New Zealand which will involve five ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals.
