KL Rahul stays mum on molestation allegation against Hardik Pandya

India T20 vice-captain KL Rahul, ahead of the team’s first T20I against New Zealand, refused to delve into the claims of teammate Hardik Pandya being accused of rape-molestation. The Men in Blue will face Kane Williamson’s men starting November 17.

An alleged close aide of Dawood Ibrahim Riyaz Bhati’s wife, Rehnuma Bhati, on September 24, registered a complaint at Mumbai’s Santacruz police station alleging rape-molestation by Riyaz, Munaf Patel, Rajeev Shukla, Hardik Pandya and Prithviraj Kothari, ANI reported, adding that no FIR was filed. 

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Asked about the report, KL Rahul said,” Quite honestly, I don’t know if that has happened.”

He also added that Pandya, who has been in and out of the team since undergoing a back surgery in 2019, already knows what the team expects out of him. The Mumbai Indians player was included in India’s playing 11 during the T20 World Cup 2021. He failed to make a big impact and finished the tournament with 69 runs in three innings. 

“Obviously me and Hardik played together and we’re good friends, so we’ve had a discussion amongst ourselves and he knows what exactly he needs to do and what exactly the need expects out of him. He’s quite a smart guy to understand what his role and responsibility is in the team, so I’m sure he’ll work hard and try and get the best out of himself.”

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“And yeah, I’m not very sure if there’s been a clear communication, but I’m sure there will be if there hasn’t been one. I haven’t had a chat with him since the World Cup, so I don’t have a clear answer to that. But I’m sure, knowing him personally, he will be working hard,” KL Rahul said. 

In 2019, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya were briefly kept out of the Indian team for their sexist comments on popular Indian talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’.