People don't understand what cricketers go through: Ravi Ashwin
May 20, 2020
New Delhi [India], May 20 : Opening up on the issue of mental health, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday said that sometimes people don't understand what cricketers go through and added that there is a taboo about people voicing their opinions.
Ashwin was doing an Instagram live session on the official handle of the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals and it was then that Ashwin was asked to talk on the issue of mental health.
"For me, in cricket, there is all this taboo about people voicing their opinions, the moment you say you are not feeling well mentally, people start saying you are not that strong and courageous, you do not understand what a cricketer goes through in his career, a cricketer is jailed in a hotel room and he is on the road for a major part of the time, you lose relationships all the time because you put everything on the line to be the cricketer you are, people do not understand all this, to be able to trust someone is critical," Ashwin said.
"It is a competitive space, people are eyeing for the spots, it is not very healthy to rely on someone to talk about the weakness, so it is important to have someone you can trust within the team, he added.
Last year, Australia's Glenn Maxwell had decided to take a break from cricket to look after his mental health.
Australia's Will Pucovski had also asked the management team to not consider him for the first Test against Pakistan last year due to mental health reasons.
Last year, India skipper Virat Kohli had lauded Maxwell for opening up on his battle and then Kohli also opened up about his own struggles on the cricket field.
"To be very honest, everyone is focused on what they need to do. It is difficult for anyone to figure out what is going around in another person's mind. I have gone through a phase in my career where I felt like it was the end of the world. In England 2014, I did not know what to do and what to say to anyone and how to speak and how to communicate," Kohli had said.
"I could not have said I am not feeling great mentally and I need to get away from the game because you never know how it is taken. So, I think these things should be of great importance because if you think that a player is important enough for the team or Indian cricket to go forward. I think they should be looked after," he had added.
The 33-year-old Ashwin has played 71 Tests so far, managing to scalp 365 wickets at an average of 25.43.
Ashwin was last seen in action during India's two-match Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.
He would have been in action for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) if the tournament had started on March 29.
However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
