New Delhi:Former India captain MS Dhoni, who is known for his ice cool demeanour even in tough situations, has admitted that he is also not immune to pressure and fear.
Dhoni, lending support to MFORE, a non-profit initiative offering mind conditioning programs to achieve peak performance in sports, shared his outlook on the issue of mental health.
"In India, I feel there is still a big issue of accepting that there is some weakness when it comes to the mental aspects, but we generally term it as mental illness," Dhoni was quoted as saying in a statement issued by MFORE.
According to MFORE, Dhoni made these comments while speaking to coaches from various sports during an interaction, which was organised before the country went into a lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Nobody really says that, when I go to bat, the first 5 to 10 deliveries my heart rate is elevated, I feel the pressure, I feel a bit scared because that's how everybody feels - how to cope with that? '' the World Cup winning captain asked.
"This is a small problem but a lot of times we hesitate to say it to a coach and that's why the relationship between a player and coach is very important be it any sport," said Dhoni.
Shedding light the importance of a mental conditioning coach, Dhoni said, "Mental conditioning coach should not be the one who comes for 15 days, because when you come for 15 days you are only sharing the experience.''
"If the mental conditioning coach is constantly with the player, he can understand what are the areas which are affecting his sport,'' he added.
Indian cricket team captain Viral Kohli also mentioned that mental clarity is important in life."I think mental health and mental clarity is the most important factor in life; not just in sports," he said.MFORE has been founded by former Indian cricketer S Badrinath and Saravana Kumar.(UNI)