'They thought I was done'; Hardik Pandya opens up on being suspended in 2019

New Delhi, Oct 18 (IANS) India all-rounder Hardik Pandya faced tough times in his career in 2019 following his appearance on a TV show 'Koffee with Karan' which led to a wide media outburst.

Pandya made some controversial remarks on the show which went viral on social media, and brought negative reactions from the public, leading to the cricketer being suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), along with teammate KL Rahul.

He missed a major portion of tours of Australia and New Zealand due to the suspension. In an interview with ESPNCricinfo's The Cricket Monthly magazine, the all-rounder recalled the time he heard about his suspension.

"When I heard I was going to get suspended, a lot of cricketers who knew me personally, who knew what kind of an individual I am, they went out and spoke about it, which is fine. They thought I was done. I heard lots of people saying, 'Hardik's done, he won't be able to cope with this.' Because I was the bad boy of Indian cricket at that time," he was quoted as saying.

The 28-year-old further opined that there were times he used to cry a lot while practicing at Bengaluru. He also said that he failed to concentrate on the sport properly and was not in the right zone.

"At the Chinnaswamy (Bengaluru), while practicing, I was missing the ball by this much (shows a wide gap). Because when this is not right (points to head) and when you question yourself, things just go wrong. That day I cried during training because there was a lot of emotion.

"Because of how I was portrayed (after the talk-show incident). I was never that individual. I was not able to concentrate on my sport because there was a lot of expectation from myself, leave anyone else," he added.