New Delhi
India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has revealed how he thought of committing suicide while struggling with personal problems before making a spectacular comeback to the national side. Shami battled weight issues, injury and a legal quarrel with his estranged wife before a stellar performance at the World Cup last year re-established the 29-year-old as a key player. With cricket and sports halted in the coronavirus lockdown, Shami opened up about his own and his family’s fears to teammate Rohit Sharma during an exchange on Instagram. ‘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,’ said Shami. ‘I was not thinking about cricket at all. We were living on the 24th floor. They were scared I might jump from the balcony.’ Shami’s contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India was withheld in 2018 because of allegations of domestic violence, only to be reinstated later. The bowler also struggled with injury that saw him spend nearly a year on the sidelines, leading to weight gain.—APP
