Mental Health Issues: How Did COVID Affect Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli?

Dubai: India captain Rohit Sharma and his predecessor Virat Kohli opened up about mental health issues affecting cricketers, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic two-and-a-half years ago.

Kohli revealed during an interview with Star Sports that for the first time in 10 years, he had not touched a cricket bat for more than a month.

“This is the first time in 10 years that I have not touched the bat in a whole month… That’s when I came to the realization that I was kind of trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. ‘No, I can do it’… being competitive and convincing yourself that you have intensity but your body is telling you to stop. Mind is telling you to just take a break and step back… You can neglect it by saying you are fit, you are working hard on yourself, and you will be fine because you are fit mentally,” Kohli said.

Kohli remarked that he was always looked at as a cricketer who is mentally very strong.

“I am, but everyone has a limit, and you need to recognize that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you. So this period actually taught me a lot of things that I was not allowing to come to the surface. When they did, I embraced it. Yaar, there is much more to life than just your profession. And when the environment around you is such that everyone looks at you through your professional identity, somewhere you start losing perspective as a human being,” said the out-of-form batsman.

Rohit said not just Virat, but a lot of cricketers have struggled with mental health post COVID.

The skipper observed that living in bio-bubbles for long periods has not been easy as it’s completely different from how life was in the pre-COVID era.

“We do talk about mental health. It has been difficult for a lot of players not just Virat but for a lot of players who have gone through hard times mentally since COVID struck. Staying in bubbles, not being able to go outside… Some of the guys find it difficult. And there is nothing wrong with it,” Rohit said during the press conference on Saturday, the eve of the blockbuster India versus Pakistan clash in Asia Cup.

“Suddenly you had to stay inside hotels for 2-3 months when we were on long tours. The quarantines and all that, it was not easy. Every player has his own way to respond and there is nothing wrong if a player has his view on it,” he added.

Stressing on the importance of mental health and keeping players fresh going into big games like Sunday’s, Rohit said: “There is constant talk around how the players are mentally and what they think of the game… And how we can keep them fresh. That freshness is very important when you are playing high-pressure games. Mental health is very important,” he opined.