Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were on the receiving end of severe criticism following their appearance on Koffee With Karan, the famous reality show hosted by Karan Johar. Pandya had brazenly bragged about his prowess with women on the show, and it was not received well.

Pandya announced his engagement to Serbian model/actress Natasa Stankovic on New Year's day during their vacation in Dubai and the news had taken the internet by storm. Regarding the criticism he received for the misogynistic remarks on the show, the cricketer stated, "We as cricketers did not know what was going to happen. The ball was not in my court, it was in some else's court where they had to take the shot and that's a very vulnerable place you don't want to be."

Two weeks after a show-cause notice was issued to Pandya and Rahul following their stint on the show, their ban was lifted by the BCCI CoA on January 24, 2018.