cricket

Updated: Nov 14, 2019 07:38 IST

Indian captain Virat Kohli has lauded Australia cricketer Glenn Maxwell for opening up and taking a break from the game as he believes this will set a right example for cricketers around the world. Maxwell decided to go on an indefinite from cricket in the middle of the T20I series against Sri Lanka earlier this month. Maxwell is believed to have taken the decision to deal with his mental health issues.

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“What Glenn has done is remarkable, it will set the right example for cricketers all around the world, if you are not in best frame of mind, you can keep trying, but you reach a tipping point, you need time away from the game - not to say you give up but to get more clarity, you tend to take more space. In my opinion, it is quite acceptable, these things should be respected. It is happening at a human level, it has nothing to do with what you are doing on the field it is just not having the capacity to deal with things any longer,” Kohli said on the eve of the first India vs Bangladesh Test in Indore.

The skipper also recollected his horrendous England tour of 2014 and said that after the struggles, he did not want do what to do with himself. It was perhaps the darkest phase in his life and the right-hander conceded that he believed it was the end of the world for him, but then did not know how to speak about it.

“I have gone through a phase in my career when I thought it was the end of the world. In England 2014, I did not what to say, how to speak with anyone, how to communicate and to be honest, I couldn’t have said I am not feeling great mentally and need to get away from the game as you never know how that will be taken. So these things need to be of great importance,” Kohli added.

Indian cricketers are subject to intense scrutiny and as such, the captain wants a proper communication channel to be in place to look after the players.

“If you think a player is important for the team, for Indian cricket, he needs to be looked after. When you get to the international stage, every player needs to have the communication in place, the ability to speak out,” the skipper said.