KOHLI REVEALS 2014 DEPRESSION BATTLE

INDIA captain Virat Kohli (inset right) has revealed that he battled depression during a harrowing tour of England in 2014 where he felt like the “loneliest guy in the world” after a string of failures with the bat.

Talking to former England player Mark Nicholas on his Not Just Cricket podcast, Kohli conceded that he went through a tough phase during the particularly difficult 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 won’t be able to score runs. I think all batsmen have felt that at some stage, that you are not in control of anything at all.”

Kohli had a disastrous tour of England

in 2014, registering scores of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0,7, 6 and 20 in five Tests, averaging 13.50 in his 10 innings. He roared back to form in the tour of Australia after that, accumulating 692 runs in the Test series.

“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,” he said of the England tour.

Kohli recalled feeling alone despite having supportive people in his life. He said professional help was what he needed.

“Personally, for me, it was a revelation – that you could feel that lonely even though you are part of a big group. I won’t say I didn’t have people whom I could speak to, but not having a professional to speak to who could understand what I was going through, I think was a huge factor. I would like to see it change.”

The India captain, considered one of the best batsmen in modern cricket, believes mental health issues should not be overlooked since they can destroy a player’s career.

“[There should be] someone whom you can go to at any stage, 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, 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.