'I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently' - Virat Kohli opens up about mental health issues

Just before the high-voltage India versus Pakistan Asia Cup match on 28th of August, former India captain Virat Kohli set the internet on fire as he revealed going through mental fatigue. The 33-year-old, despite giving his best for the nation, failed to cope up with the pressure. It’s been almost three years since ‘King’ Kohli last scored a century and thus, the criticisms were coming from all across the globe to his way.

Virat, however, clarified that he is in a much better space now and is excited to take the field again. He opened up how his failure in England bothered him and that’s why he decided to take some time off cricket. Following his request, BCCI didn’t pick him for the West Indies and Zimbabwe series and now the fans are expecting a fresh Virat to roar like he used to previously.

The journey, however, wasn’t an easy one. While speaking to Jatin Sapru of Star Sports, Kohli said that he hasn’t touched the bat for 30 days and also realised that he was faking his intensity lately.

“For the first time in 10 years, I didn’t touch my bat for a month. I came to realise that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body was telling you to stop. The mind was telling me to take a break and step back. I’m looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong and I am. But everyone has a limit and you need to recognize that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you. This period taught me a lot of things that I wasn’t allowing to come to surface. When they eventually came up, I embraced it,” said the chase master in the interview.

This has been an amazing break: Virat Kohli 

Kohli was heavily criticised for taking a break during this time. He was supported by few of the legends of the game but the several fans were not amused with his approach. As he revealed the back story for his absence, a huge portion of the fans showed their support for the ‘King’ and hoped to see him back in form again.

Virat, on the other hand, said he enjoyed this break as he never took such a long one. An interesting fact tells that Virat played more international matches than any other Indian cricketer since 2020. Thus, his workload was never managed and many believe that is the reason behind Kohli’s mental health taking a dip. However, he said he once again is enjoying his training and that’s a massive boost for India before the Asia Cup.

“This has been an amazing break. I never had this long a break, and the first thing I realise that I woke up in the morning and was excited to go to gym. Which isn’t a thing like, ‘oh I have to keep up with this’. So that was my first mark. You can tend to get carried away with so many demands nowadays… You have seen the results of what happened to Ben Stokes and Trent Boult… Moeen [Ali] retiring from Test cricket. These aren’t abnormalities but it happens, and people who are in touch with them know what’s happening in their lives”, said Kohli.

He added, “I’m feeling light now for sure, and it wasn’t just about the workload of cricket. Many other factors on the outside as well, which contribute to me going into that… Because you are playing with passion, with heart, but on the outside the perception is different and the value of these things is not being understood. That people are looking at you from a different lens. That is a reality check. That you can’t expect everyone to think and be like you. I got to realise that too.”