Indian captain Virat Kohli has once again broken the silence on depression. Virat Kohli said that he felt completely alone after the poor performance against England in 2014. Where he didn’t score a single fifty-plus score in 10 innings.
In the era of COVID-19 players have to stay in the bio bubble, so the debate on the mental health of the players has become more intensified.
Virat Kohli believes that it is important to have a mental health expert with the team.
In a conversation with former England player Mark Nichols, Kohli admitted that he had gone through a difficult period of his career during that tour.
“Yes, I did,” he said when asked whether he had suffered from depression at the time.
“… it’s not a great feeling to wake up knowing that you are able to score runs and I think all batsmen have felt that at some stage that you are not in control of anything at all,” he recalled.
“Personally, for me that was a revelation that you could feel that lonely even though you are a part of a big group. I did have people who I could speak to but not having a professional to speak to who could understand what I am going through completely, I think is a huge factor.
“I think I would like to see it change.”
“Someone whom you can go to at any stage, have a conversation around and say ‘Listen this is what I am feeling, I am finding it hard to even go to sleep, I feel like I don’t want to wake up in the morning. I have no confidence in myself, what do I do? ‘
“Lot of people suffer with that feeling for longer periods of time, it carries on for months, it carries on for a whole cricket season, people are not able to get out of it,” Kohli said.
“I strongly feel the need for professional help there to be very honest,” he added.