Indian fast bowler reveals 'contemplated committing suicide three times'

During a live chat on Instagram with Rohit Sharma, one of India’s leading bowler Mohammad Shami made a startling revelation that he thought of committing suicide not once but three times while dealing with severe stress due to personal issues.

He said that his family kept a close watch on him at all times due to the fear that he might jump from the balcony of his 24th-floor apartment.

Shami went through a tough period in 2018 after his wife Hasin Jahan accused him of domestic violence, while also accusing him of match-fixing and falsifying the age. He, along with his brother, was booked for domestic violence under IPC section 498-A.

“Rehab was stressful as the same exercises are repeated every day. Then family problems started and I also suffered an accident. The accident happened 10-12 days ahead of the IPL and my personal problems were running high in the media,” Shami told Rohit on Instagram live.

Shami credited his family for unparalleled support:

Shami said that he would have lost everything, including cricket, had his family not supported him during that difficult period. He also revealed that he had 2-3 friends beside him due to the fear that he may commit suicide.

“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.