Cricketer K L Rahul has of late been at the receiving end of a lot of criticism over his form, with many taking digs at him and calling him out for his underperformance. His father-in-law, actor Suniel Shetty, has come out in his support, asserting that he was and continues to be a “fan” of Rahul.

Shetty, whose daughter — actor Athiya Shetty — got married to Rahul in January this year, tells us: “There are a lot of reasons [behind underperformance]. You have injuries. You go through highs and lows... So many of the kids these days are going through this. That’s their journey. They have to learn from it; life doesn’t end there. We have to move on. I will never ridicule a sportsperson. I was Rahul’s fan earlier and I am a fan even today.”

He goes on to mention how one can set the record straight only through their actions and not words. “Who are these people trolling you? How important are they? What have they gone through? Sometimes, I pity them. If you look at it from their point of view, maybe it’s their frustration... But that’s okay. His bat has to talk. Rahul or me talking is not going to help,” says the Dharavi Bank actor.

The 61-year-old, in his career spanning 30-odd years, has had his share of highs and lows, too. “I have been trolled, too. I have been called a bad actor. We have got into this field consciously knowing where we are going. People ask me, ‘What do you tell Rahul?’ What can I tell him? He plays for the country. Getting selected to play for India is in itself a huge honour,” says Shetty, who is getting positive feedback for his recent web outing, Hunter: Tootega Nahi Todega.

“It is a huge compliment when people come to me and say, ‘You have got into the skin of the character’. I’ve never played a character who has gone rogue,” he says, adding that he is enjoying this new phase of his career.