New Delhi: In a shocking revelation, India pacer Mohammed Shami has claimed that he thought of committing suicide thrice while battling with severe stress due to personal and professional issues.
During a live chat on Instagram with Rohit Sharma, Shami opened up on his personal and professional life and credited his family for their unparalleled support during the testing times which helped him recover strongly.
"I think if my family had not supported me back then I would have lost my cricket. I thought of committing suicide three times during that period due to severe stress and personal problems," Shami revealed during the session on Saturday.
The 29-year-old pacer also mentioned that he was struggling to focus on his cricket, then.
"I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They (family) were scared I might jump from the balcony. My brother supported me a lot.
"My 2-3 friends used to stay with me for 24 hours. My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else. I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun," Shami said.
Shami had a fall out with his estranged wife Hasin Jahan in 2018 when she accused the Indian pacer and his family of domestic abuse. She lodged a complaint with the police, following which the India player and his brother were booked under relevant sections.
The chaos in Shami's personal also forced BCCI to withheld his central contracts for a while.
While he was suffering from mental pressure due to personal issues, Shami also suffered a road accident in March 2018 sustaining minor injuries.
"Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media," Shami told Rohit.Shami said his family stood like a rock with him and the support helped him get back on his feet.
"But my family was with me and there is no bigger power than that. They were telling me that every problem has some solution or the other, just focus on your game. My brother was with me, a few of my friends were with me and I will never forget them and if they were not there I would have done something drastic," he further said.
The premier Indian bowler also spoke about another painful period in his life after his injury in the 2015 World Cup."In 2015, I was injured at the World Cup. After that, it took some 18 months to get back (into the Indian team) and this was the most painful phase of my career.
After remaining out of favour from the Indian team for quite a while in 2018, he made his comeback in the Test series against Australia and there has been no looking back since.
The pacer has become a vital cog of the Indian pace battery in Tests and was the leading wicket-taker for India in the longest format in 2019. Shami picked 33 wickets in just 8 Test matches last year.(UNI)