Kohli: I felt all alone

INDIA captain Virat Kohli has revealed he struggled with depression on tour in England which reduced him to the “loneliest guy in the world.” Cricket deity Kohli, below, carries the hopes of a nation on his shoulders every time he walks out to bat.

But in a lacerating interview, speaking exclusively to the Not Just Cricket podcast, he lays bare the burden of failure on the 2014 tour, where he managed just 134 runs in five Tests against England. Kohli said: “It’s not a great feeling when you wake up knowing that you won’t be able to score any runs. “I couldn’t understand how to get over it. I felt like I was the loneliest guy in the world. “And that’s what happens, you can really push yourself into a downward spiral. But when things turn around, you feel that maybe I was being too harsh on myself.

“For me, it was a revelation personally, that you could feel that lonely, even though you’re part of a big group.

“I wouldn’t say I didn’t have people I could speak to, but not having a professional to speak to who could understand what I was going through completely, I think is a huge factor.

“And I would like to see a change, someone that you can go to at any stage, have a conversation around, ‘Listen, this is what I’m feeling, I’m finding it hard to even go to sleep, I feel like I don’t even want to wake up in the morning, I have no confidence in myself, what do I do?’.”

Kohli turned to another king among Indian cricket royalty, Sachin Tendulkar, for help.

He added: “The thing he told me if you’re going through a strong negative feeling, it’s best to let it pass.

“If you start fighting that feeling, it grows stronger. My mindset really opened up from then on.”