In 2019, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya faced nationwide backlash after their appearance on Karan Johar's Koffee With Karan. Their comments on the show led to their suspension just before the Australia series. KL Rahul shared with Nikhil Kamath how the Koffee With Karan incident changed him completely. He said, "The interview was a different world. That changed me. Completely changed me. I was a very shy, soft-spoken boy growing up. Then I played for India and became very confident, I had no problem being in a huge group of people. People will know I have been in a room of 100 people because I would talk to everyone. "Now I don't (do that) because that interview scarred me massively. Getting suspended from the team. I have never been suspended in school, I have never been punished in school. All this never happened to me. I didn't know how to handle it," KL Rahul compared the situation to his school days, noting that he had never experienced such severe consequences before. "I did mischievous things in schools like chota mota (small things), but nothing to get me expelled from school or my parents have had to come. That was my first, and then you realize how bad it is," Hardik Pandya's remarks were labeled as sexist, and even though KL Rahul tried to stay calm, he also came under scrutiny from the BCCI. He later told The Times of India that he was "bitter for a bit" and that situation "affected and bothered" him. Also Read | Indian Cricket Fraternity Reacts As Shikhar Dhawan Announces Retirement