Highlights:
- Virat Kohli failed to perform in the test series in the 2014 India tour of England
- Virat Kohli talks about how he fought depression on the 2014 tour of India to England
- Kohli endured a poor run with the bat on that tour, averaging just 13.4
- Kohli said he felt like the “loneliest guy in the world” on that tour
Indian skipper Virat Kohli opens up about the time when he battles depression during the harrowing tour of England back in 2014 where he felt like the “loneliest guy in the world” after a string of failures with the bat.
In conversation with the former England player Mark Nicholas on his “Not Just Cricket” podcast, Kohli conceded that he went through a very rough patch during the particularly difficult tour. “Yes, I did,” was the response from Kohli when he was asked whether he had suffered from depression at the time.
Kohli recalled, “It’s not a great feeling to wake up knowing that you won’t be 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”.
Virat Kohli had a disastrous tour of England back in 2014 and registered scored of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0,7, 6 and 20 in five Tests, averaging 13.40 in his 10 innings.
However, he roared back soon in the tour of Australia after that, where he managed to score 692 runs in the Test series.
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Talking about the England tour of 2014, Kohli said, “You just don’t understand how to get over it. That was a phase when I literally couldn’t do anything to overturn things…I felt like I was the loneliest guy in the world”.
Kohli remembered how he felt alone despite the fact that there were supportive people in his life.
He said professional help was what he needed.
Kohli explained, “Personally, for me that was a revelation that you could feel that lonely even though you are a part of a big group.
“I won’t say I didn’t 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,” he added during the podcast.
The 32 year old Indian skipper who is considered one of the best batsmen in modern cricket believes that mental health issues cannot be overlooked as they can destroy a person’s career.
Kohli said, “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. “I strongly feel the need for professional help there to be very honest,” he said.
