‘First time in 10 years that I didn’t touch the bat for a month’: Virat Kohli admits he was ‘mentally down’ before break

India's batting great Virat Kohli opened up on his mental exhaustion and the feel to need a break from the game last month.

India's batting great Virat Kohli will make a return to action with the Asia Cup 2022, where the side begins its campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 (Sunday). Kohli had been rested for India's previous two tours to West Indies and Zimbabwe, and endured a rough patch with the bat over the past few months. The former India captain had only one 50+ score in his last 22 innings (IPL 2022 and international outings), and will be aiming to make a strong comeback in the continental tournament.

Virat Kohli(Reuters)

Kohli is known for his incredible intensity and aggression on the field. In fact, the 33-year-old star's energy often rubs on to his teammates, as India emerged as one of the most aggressive unit under his captaincy over the years. But Kohli has now made a chilling revelation about his mental health before eventually deciding to take a break from the game last month. The India star has revealed that he hadn't “touched” his bat throughout the time away from the game, further admitting that he felt exhausted and consequently came to terms with his mental, emotional and physical limitations.

“For the first time in 10 years, I didn't touch my bat for a month. I came to realisation that I was trying to fake my intensity a bit recently. I was convincing myself that no, you had the intensity. But your body was telling you to stop. The mind was telling me to take a break and step back,” Kohli said in a video posted by Star Sports.

"I'm looked at as a guy who is mentally very strong and I am. But everyone has a limit and you need to recognize that limit, otherwise things can get unhealthy for you.

“This period taught me a lot of things that I wasn't allowing to come to surface. When they eventually came up, I embraced it.”

Kohli also revealed that he felt “mentally down,” and further spoke about the taboo surrounding mental health. “I'm not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down. This is a very normal thing to feel, but we don't speak because we are hesitant. We don't want to be looked at as mentally weak. Trust me, faking to be strong is far worse than admitting to be weak,” he said.