India batsman KL Rahul has said that the unsavoury comments about women on a TV show last year that got him suspended fro the action completely changed his thought process. This, he said, has made him shun out consistent performances.

Rahul and Hardik Pandya were severely criticized after making sexist remarks on ‘Koffee with Karan.’ The duo returned home from Australia in January last year after there were suspended by the BCCI’s Committee of Administrators (COA).

This, he said, has made him consistent, and a lot of credit has been given to him. He added that the suspension made him tempted in one way or another to be selfish and play for himself, but he failed.

In an interview with ‘India Today, Rahul said since his plan failed, he decided to go out and do what the team wants.

As his fortune surged, Rahul’s replaced Rishabh Pant in white-ball cricket and scored 303 runs in five innings at an average of 75.75  with a strike rate of 114.77 in ODIs. The opener in T20Is scored 224 runs at an average of 56.00 and a strike rate of 144.51.

The batsman further noted that the suspension helped him realize how short a cricketer’s shelf life. After realizing this, he said he decided to channel his energies in the right direction, which has resulted in consistent results.

While noting that realized afterward that he probably has a good 12 or 11 years left in him, Rahul said he quickly changed his focus as he had to dedicate all his time and energy towards becoming a team player.

The 28-year-old stylish Karnataka batsman also said that this helped him a lot and took a lot of pressure off him as he began to focus on wanting to do better for the team and make a difference in the game.

 
 
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed