I Felt Anxiety For 10-12 Years, Had Many Sleepless Nights - Sachin Tendulkar Opens Up About Mental Health

Former India captain and legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar speak about the mental health issues he dealt with in his career, and what the professional players face during theirs.

In the past years, several prominent players have opened up about their struggles with mental health and the pressure on and off the field on them, including the likes of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Sarah Taylor, the former England wicket-keeper who retired at the age of 30 after long-term battles with anxiety.

Now, Sachin Tendulkar, a legend of the game and arguably the greatest icon to have endorsed this sport, revealed that he too had different methods to cope up with anxieties, which he experienced for a dozen of years in his career.

The right-hander says a player has to prepare mentally as well for the game apart from the physical aspects. The 48-year-old, who played international cricket from 1989 to 2013, further revealed he has had sleepless nights before several matches, and needed to do other chores to take his mind away.

“Over a period of time I realised that besides preparing physically for a game, you have to prepare yourself mentally also. In my mind, the match started long before I entered the ground. The anxiety levels were very high,” Sachin Tendulkar said in an interaction organised by Unacademy.

“I felt anxiety for 10-12 years, and had many sleepless nights before a game. Later on I started accepting that it was part of my preparation. Then I made peace with the times I was not able to sleep at night. I would start doing something to keep my mind comfortable.

“That “something” included shadow batting, watching TV and playing video games in the wee hours of the day. Even making his morning cup of tea helped prepare for the game. Making tea, ironing my clothes also helped me prepare for the game. I would pack my bag the day before the game, my brother taught me all of it and it became a habit. I followed the same drill even in the last match I played for India,” the former opener added.

Acceptability is the key here: Sachin Tendulkar

The 2011 World Cup winner reckons accepting the issue of mental health for anyone is an important factor and step towards healing. He further believes one must accept it first, and so should the people around the person and only then it will lead to the solutions the person searches for.

“When there is an injury, physios and doctors examine you and diagnose what is wrong with you. Same is the case with mental health. It is normal for anyone to go through ups and downs and when you hit those lows you need people around. Acceptability is the key here. Not just for the player, for people around him also. Once you have accepted you start looking for solutions,” stated the batsman who still remains the leading run-scorer in international cricket.

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