I began to cry since I didn’t think my dad would say that. I Made the Decision to Give Up Cricket: R Ashwin Discusses His Mental Health

According to Ravichandran Ashwin, he considered getting an MBA in order to pursue a career in marketing when he made the decision to give up cricket in 2017. The great off-spinner for India claims that the strain of playing professional cricket got to the point that it started to affect his personal life. After a particularly heated argument with his father one day, he broke down in tears and gave up on watching cricket.

Ashwin, who just became the second Indian to reach 500 Test wickets, spoke up on the damaging effects on a player’s mental health that may result from the intense pressure to perform well in the competitive world of professional cricket in an interview that was published in The Indian Express.

Mental health is layered, according to Ashwin. Some individuals give in to peer pressure. Some people get jaded because they travel constantly. There are moments when you are in such a low place that you just want to speak to someone, and I believe that most individuals find themselves in victim roles more frequently than not. This, in my opinion, is a highly risky circumstance.

“I can return home and my family is supporting me, but I’m not allowed to say a lot of things.” I would argue that cricket is essentially a business sport with certain elements and actions of a governmental organization. Nevertheless My dad has one thing to say when I bring up company matters to him: politics is everything. And what a long line it is. And in the end, even supporters follow suit. I have also done it a little bit on occasion when I’m in a bad place. However, it’s a really bad thing to do since you think that someone else is succeeding easily. It’s not, he continued.

Ashwin goes on to add that he wasn’t able to spend enough time with his young family and that his father once told him straight out why he was “getting screwed” during a family session.

“My spouse is an excellent listener, but I was not spending enough time with her since her family was small. We were having a talk one lovely day. Dad said something. And there was a problem with something within the home. I also spoke with my father. I often argue with my dad. And at some point, he said, “You know what? You are too sincere and moral. You are thereby being screwed.” After saying that, he turned to go. I’m not an emotional person. Although I’d like to think of myself as rather powerful, I’ve simply withdrawn. Then I broke down in tears. I sobbed for a very long time. That was not what I expected my dad to say. Ashwin said, “I don’t think he even realized what he did.”

“I felt like I was asking a lot of the individuals that live in my home. Once, I would shut myself in the room. I’ve never been a cricket fan. It used to be always dark in my room,” he said.

After making the decision to give up cricket, Ashwin looked for “external help” in order to get a fresh viewpoint and “change his life for the better.”

“I gave up playing cricket. I was wondering what action I would take. And I declared that I would strive for perfection in all I did in life and become the best in whatever I did. I would most likely attempt to get an MBA and work in marketing. I gave myself a lot of possibilities and then reasoned that I needed to have perfect clarity before making any decisions. most likely get an unbiased perspective on my life. And see where I am and who I am. At that point, I sought outside assistance, and it really improved my life,” the 37-year-old said.