FRAME OF MIND

Mental-health related break should not be seen in a negative way - Kohli

by Prakash Govindasreenivasan • Last updated on

India captain Virat Kohli lauded Glenn Maxwell's brave decision to speak up and take time away from the sport to deal with mental-health related issues, and reckoned players at the international level should be able to communicate freely when they're not in the right frame of mind in order to be able to step away from the game.

Maxwell announced his sabbatical in the middle of Australia's home series against Pakistan, soon followed by Nic Maddinson opting out of an Australia A fixture for the same reason. Both have been backed up by vociferous support from their cricket board.

While players all around the world have been able to take such a big step, there's never been such a situation from within the Indian team. Kohli stressed on the need for Indian cricketers to be able to take such calls too - if the situation arises - and have ample support provided to them.

Kohli also went on to reveal his state of mind after the lows of the England tour of 2014, when he was not sure what the right way forward was and how a decision to take a sabbatical would be received. Kohli found himself in an absolute rut in that five-match Test series, coming away with just 134 runs to his name and a clear susceptibility against the ball moving away from him.

"I've gone through a phase in my career where I've felt like it was the end of the world. In England 2014, I just didn't know what to do, what to say to anyone, how to speak, how to communicate. To be honest, I couldn't have said I am not feeling great mentally and I want to get away from the game, because you never know how that's taken.

"I think these things should be of great importance because if you think that a player is important enough, for the team and for Indian cricket to go forward, I think they should be looked after," Kohli said.

For such a big figure - perhaps the biggest currently - in Indian cricket to throw his weight behind such a delicate issue is a welcome opinion, considering the level of competition that players have to deal with on a daily basis at every age group in Indian cricket.

"I am absolutely for it. To be very honest, you have a job to do, we have a job to do. And everyone's focused on what they need to do so it's very difficult for anyone to figure out what's going on in another person's mind," Kohli said.

"When you get to the international stage, every player that's in the squad needs that sort of communication and that ability to just speak out. I think what Glenn [Maxwell] has done is remarkable and it sets the right example for cricketers all over the world that if you're not in the best frame of mind, you try, you try, you try. But I think as human beings you reach a tipping point at some stage and you need some time away from the game.

"Not to say that you give up but just to gain more clarity and you tend to take more space, which I think is quite acceptable and quite a nice thing to do. I think these things should be respected and not taken in a negative way at all because this is happening at a human level, it's got nothing to do with what you do on the field or not. Just not having the capacity anymore to deal with things, which I think can happen to anyone so I think it should be taken in a very positive way," he said.

© Cricbuzz

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