- Virat Kohli has struggled with his mental health throughout his career.
- The 33-year-old ex-captain has been stripped of his captaincy in all formats since last year.
- Local media revealed on Thursday that he had fought depression at times.
Local media revealed on Thursday that Indian cricket sensation Virat Kohli, who guided his team to unparalleled heights, had struggled with his mental health throughout his career.
The 33-year-old ex-captain earned a reputation for aggressive play and outstanding hitting, pushing his team to the top of the five-day standings.
However, the man known as “King” Kohli by the Indian media has endured a run of bad form and has been stripped of his captaincy in all formats since late last year, following a terrible performance at the Twenty20 World Cup.
Kohli told The Indian Express that the demands of his profession had negatively impacted his mental health at times.
“I personally have experienced times when even in a room full of people who support and love me, I felt alone, and I am sure that this is a feeling that a lot of people can relate to,” he said in an interview published Wednesday.
“It is definitely a serious issue and as much as we try to be strong at all times, it can tear you apart.”
Kohli stated that sportsmen must rest, recover from the pressures of sports, and reconnect with their “core self”.
“If you lose that connection, it wouldn’t take very long for other things to crumble around you.”
After failing to score runs during a 2014 England trip, he disclosed just months prior that he had fought depression.
“It’s not a great feeling to wake up knowing that you won’t be able to score runs… I felt I was the loneliest guy in the world,” he stated in a podcast with English analyst Mark Nicholas in February.
Since 2019, Kohli, one of the highest-paid athletes in the world, has not scored a century in any format.
After being rested for India’s recent tour to the West Indies, he has been nominated to India’s Twenty20 team for the Asia Cup, which begins with a match against archrival Pakistan.
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