After being suspended from the ongoing Australia tour due to their comments on the TV Show Koffee with Karan, the brand value of Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul is taking a hit.
Pandya, who was at the centre of the storm, was dropped by men’s shaving razor Gillette Mach3 Start as its celebrity ambassador after his sexist comments on air. “Hardik Pandya’s recent comments do not reflect the values of Gillette. We have suspended our association with Hardik until we decide on further course of action,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Other brands are expected to follow suit, with the reactions to the duo’s TV appearance being overwhelmingly in the negative.
Pandya bragged about his success with women and made other sexual remarks during the celebrity chat show broadcast last Sunday that sparked outrage on social media. The streaming platform, Hotstar, has also taken down the show and it is no longer available for public viewing.
The 25-year-old Pandya and Rahul apologised for their conduct after the BCCI demanded an explanation but officials unanimously decided to go ahead with an inquiry.
“As we have seen with celebrities such as Aamir Khan, who lost his endorsements after he made comments that did not go down well with a certain section of the audience or even golfer Tiger Woods who got embroiled in a controversy, Pandya and Rahul’s brand valuation may be impacted in the short run,” said Aviral Jain, MD at Duff & Phelps, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The two might not be as high-profile as Amir Khan but have several endorsements. Apart from TV advertisements, Pandya has associations with brands such as Oppo, Gulf Oil, Sin Denim, DFY Sport and EUME on his social media as well, while Rahul endorses Curefit, Royal Stag, Puma and has been seen in a TVC for the Reserve Bank of India as well.
