Sreesanth, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul
Sreesanth, Hardik Pandya, KL RahulInstagram

Former Indian cricketer S Sreesanth, has come out in support of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul who have triggered a nationwide uproar over their insensitive comments against women on Koffee With Karan.

Sreesanth, who himself has been facing a life-time ban imposed by the BCCI for his alleged involvement in spot-fixing, said that he doesn't endorse what Pandya and Rahul said on Karan Johar's chat show, but the Indian cricket team needs them for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019.

He also pointed out the fact that there are other players who have committed bigger mistakes but have been brushed under the carpet adding that they are still playing for the Indian team.

"What happened was wrong. They (Pandya and Rahul) said some wrong things. But there are others who have made bigger mistakes than these but are still playing. They are in different fields and not only in cricket," Sreesanth told PTI.

Calling Pandya and Rahul 'match-winning players', Sreesanth further said, "Whatever happened was very bad. But at the same time, the World Cup is around the corner. Both Hardik and Rahul are good cricketers."

Sreesanth believes that both Pandya and Rahul will be back on the field and hopes that the ban on his first class cricket would be lifted soon in the upcoming months. He was last seen on Salman Khan hosted controversial reality show Bigg Boss 12 and emerged as the runner-up. He is currently seen on Khatron Ke Khiladi 9 which is being hosted by Simmba director Rohit Shetty.

After getting called back home from the ongoing tour to Australia, Pandya and Rahul, who have been shamed publicly, have submitted an unconditional apology for their sexist and misogynistic remarks on the show after getting a show cause notice and being suspended by the BCCI.