Shoaib Akhtar opens up about his depression after leaving international cricket

Shoaib Akhtar is regarded as one of the most successful bowlers that Pakistan has given to the cricket world. Known for his lethal pace, the speedster had the ability to clock 100 miles in his spells. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ successfully carried the legacy of fast bowling of Pakistan. In an illustrious career, the prolific bowler scalped 247 wickets in 163 ODIs including 4 five-wicket hauls. While representing his national side in 15 T20 Internationals, the right-arm pacer picked up 19 wickets in 15 matches. His forte was not limited only to white-ball cricket.

Akhtar went on to represent Pakistan in 46 Tests where he scalped 178 wickets at an average of 25.7. However, injuries served as a major roadblock in the now-44-year-old’s career. Nevertheless, Akhtar redefined the early period of the 20th century with his toe-crushing yorkers and aggressive mindset while bowling his spells. Akhtar is currently active on his Youtube channel, where he can be seen sharing insights and opinions on various topics of the cricket world.

I’ll be honest with you: Shoaib Akhtar

Recently, the veteran made a courageous revelation on his Youtube channel where he opened up about his depression. Akhtar revealed that he suffered from severe depression for six to seven months after he bid adieu international cricket. In a recent chat with compatriot Mohammad Hafeez, Akhtar stated about the phase when he was clutched by depression.

“I was under severe depression for six months, I’ll be honest with you,” Akhtar said in the video. “After I left cricket, I was under serious depression for a good six to seven months. I did not come out of my house for six to seven months,” said Akhtar while having a chat with Hafeez.

As far as psychological barriers are concerned, a number of players from the male and female cricket fraternity have opined about the same. Sarah Taylor, the talented England batswoman hung her boots, Of late, Glenn Maxwell took a break midway from the Sri Lanka T20Is. Even Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, said that he was a tad clueless after his string of failures back in 2014.

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