Thought of committing suicide three times due to personal problems, stress: Mohammed Shami

Rated one of the finest pacers in the world of cricket, Indian speedster Mohammed Shami recently opened up about his own and his family’s fears in the past to Rohit Sharma during an Instagram Live session. Shami, during the interaction, revealed that he contemplated suicide thrice in 2018 which, for him, was marred by allegations of domestic violence.

Shami revealed his family members were scared that he would have jumped off the balcony and hence, they were on high alert 24 hours to make sure everything is fine with him.

"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.

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"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 annual central contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, in 2018, was also withheld due to domestic violence allegations, only to be reinstated later.

Shami’s injury, that saw him spend more than a year on sidelines, was also subject to debates and saw him gain weight. The ace Indian seamer said his family and friends helped him bounce back from the setback and regain his focus on cricket. 

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"My two or three friends used to stay with me for 24 hours (during my days of depression). My parents asked me to focus on cricket to recover from that phase and not think about anything else," he said.

"I started training then and sweated it out a lot at an academy in Dehradun.

"Then my family explained that every problem has a solution no matter how big the problem. My brother supported me a lot."

Shami made a strong comeback in the year 2019 and took the world cricket by storm. He was one of the leading wicket takers in Test cricket and also picked up 14 wickets in four matches including a hat-trick in the ICC World Cup 2019. 

Shami has claimed 180 wickets in 49 Tests and 144 scalps in 77 one-day internationals since making his debut for India in 2013.