KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya's career paths a year after talk-show debacle

As 2019 begun, star Indian cricketers KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya landed themselves in a big controversy when their appearance on a popular Indian talk show earned them a lot of criticism from experts and fans. Rahul and Pandya passed some comments on the show which were termed as 'distasteful and sexist'. As a result, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had also banned the players for a few matches after the incident. Here is how their careers shaped up after the airing of that episode.

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KL Rahul

Rahul did not earn as much flak as Hardik Pandya did when the talk show episode began to get online disrepute. Rahul was quick to bounce back in the 2019 IPL when he was the top-scorer for the Kings XI Punjab for a second straight season in a row. Missing the Orange Cap by a whisker, Rahul made 593 runs in IPL 2019 and top-scored with an unbeaten 100 against Mumbai. After the IPL, Rahul played the World Cup and scored his maiden hundred in the tournament and two fifties. Rahul scored 360 runs in the nine matches that he played for the country at CWC 2019.

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His red ball woes continued after the World Cup when India went to the Caribbean but his strong form in limited-overs cricket continued. In December, Rahul played really well against the visiting Windies and top-scored with a 91 at Mumbai. After that, Rahul posted impressive performances against Sri Lanka, Australia, and New Zealand. He has also been declared as the Kings XI Punjab captain for IPL 2020.

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Hardik Pandya

Pandya, too, made it a point to bounce back and posted very strong performances in the 2019 IPL. He helped the Mumbai Indians lift their fourth IPL trophy and delivered innings like his memorable 91 off 34 deliveries against KKR. Pandya made 402 runs in the IPL and went on to play the World Cup. At the World Cup, Pandya was decent as he scored 226 runs and took 10 wickets. In the semi-final against New Zealand, Pandya sustained a back injury and has remained out of action since then. Pandya's personal life looked bright as he got engaged to his model-girlfriend Natasa Stankovic. Pandya is a part of the Mumbai Indians for the upcoming IPL 2020 competition.

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