India pacer Mohammed Shami said he thought of taking his life thrice while battling personal issues a few years ago.
During an Instagram chat with Rohit Sharma, Shami said that it was hard for him to get back on the field after his injury during the 2015 World Cup, taking him nearly 18 months to make a full recovery.
The pacer later went through a difficult period in 2018 after estranged wife Hasin Jahan had accused Shami and his family of alleged domestic abuse while also accusing the India pacer of age fudging and match-fixing.
Things started getting worse for Shami who was also involved in a minor accident just before the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League where he suffered minor injuries.
“When I got injured in the 2015 World Cup, after that it took me 18 months to fully recover, that was the most painful moment in my life, it was a very stressful period,” Shami told Rohit.
“Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then, there were family problems too and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems was also played out in the media,” he added.
Shami has put all those problems behind, establishing himself as an indispensable bowler in India’s Test team while also being a part of their limited-overs set-up.
“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.
“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. I had 2-3 friends used to stay with me through the day. 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,” he added.