Former India captain Virat Kohli, who took his team to unprecedented heights, says he has struggled with his mental health throughout his career, local media reported Thursday (18).
The 33-year-old ex-captain built a reputation for in-your-face aggression and exemplary batting, leading his team to the top of the five-day rankings.
But the man dubbed "King" Kohli by Indian media has been plagued by a run of poor form and has been relieved of his captaincy of all formats since late last year after a dismal showing at the Twenty20 World Cup.
Kohli told The Indian Express newspaper that the pressure of his career had at times had a negative impact on his mental health.
"I personally have experienced times when even in a room full of people who support and love me, I felt alone, and I am sure that this is a feeling that a lot of people can relate to," he said in an interview published Wednesday .
"It is definitely a serious issue and as much as we try to be strong at all times, it can tear you apart."
Kohli said it was important for athletes to rest and recover from the pressures of sport and reconnect with their "core self".
"If you lose that connection, it wouldn't take very long for other things to crumble around you."
His comments came just months after he revealed he had struggled with depression after failing to score runs during an England tour in 2014.
"It's not a great feeling to wake up knowing that you won't be able to score runs... I felt I was the loneliest guy in the world," he said on a podcast with English commentator Mark Nicholas in February.
Kohli, one of the world's highest-paid athletes, has not scored a century in any format since 2019.
After being rested for the recent West Indies tour, he has now been named in India's T20 squad for the Asia Cup that starts with a match against arch-rivals Pakistan.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images
