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Virat Kohli, India’s batting talisman, admitted that a recent run drought had affected his well-being and that he had been faking intensity to show that everything was fine.
Kohli and other top cricketers, including England test captain Ben Stokes, have been open about their mental health issues. Kohli recently admitted to suffering from depression following a string of failures with the bat during India’s tour of England in 2014.
In his prime, the former India captain was one of the world’s best batsmen, but he hasn’t scored an international century since scoring his 70th in a test match in November 2019.
Kohli will return to action at the Asia Cup after taking a month off to skip India’s white-ball West Indies and Zimbabwe tours.
“For the first time in 10 years, I have not touched a bat in a month. I came to the realisation that I was kind of trying to fake my intensity a bit, recently. You are convincing yourself ‘No, I have the intensity’. But your body is telling you to stop. Your mind’s telling you to take a break and step back,” Kohli told Star Sports.
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On Sunday, India will begin their Asia Cup title defence against archrivals Pakistan, and pundits expect Kohli to regain form.
“I’m looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong, and I am,” Kohli added. “But everyone has a limit, and you need to recognise that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you.
“I’m not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down. This is a very normal thing to feel, but we don’t speak because we are hesitant. We don’t want to be looked at as mentally weak. Trust me, faking to be strong is far worse than admitting to be weak.”
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