5 Indian cricketers who thought of committing suicide

Mental health doesn’t respect fame or form. In India’s cricketing world, several players have admitted to sinking so low that suicide crossed their minds. Those confessions matter because they shift the conversation from gossip to survival and because each story shows how people pulled back from the edge. Below are five cricketers who’ve spoken publicly about suicidal thoughts, with the context of what drove them and what helped them survive.

1. S. Sreesanth

Sreesanth’s fall was brutal and very public, with arrest, a life ban from cricket and months of humiliation after the 2013 spot-fixing scandal. In interviews since his acquittal, he’s described nights of panic, shame and recurring thoughts of ending his life. That is a period he calls being “on the edge.” 

What stopped him were small, stubborn anchors of family, the slow legal process that eventually cleared him of some charges, and the stubborn hope of regaining purpose. His account underlines how sudden public disgrace and isolation can create a vacuum that makes suicide feel like an answer and how human contact and time can change that calculus.

2. Robin Uthappa

Uthappa has been unusually candid about a long stretch of clinical depression between roughly 2009 and 2011. He’s talked about days when getting out of bed felt impossible, about being ashamed of who he had become, and about suicidal thoughts that returned frequently. 

For Uthappa, the turning point was seeking help through counselling, structure, and the slow work of rebuilding identity beyond immediate performance. His openness is useful because it normalises therapy for professional athletes and shows that suicidal thoughts often appear after persistent, untreated depression rather than a single crisis

3. Praveen Kumar

Praveen’s honesty is stark. In interviews, he described driving toward Haridwar with a revolver, determined to end his life after feeling discarded and overwhelmed. He says a photograph of his children stopped him, and later, therapy and family contact helped him to rebuild. 

Praveen’s story highlights a common pattern that the shock of falling out of the system (loss of selection, money or role) can spiral into a sense of worthlessness, and a small, human detail (a child’s photo, a phone call) can be the life-saving interruption.

4. Mohammed Shami

Shami has spoken about dark stretches when personal troubles and intense pressure combined to push him toward thinking about suicide. He has credited cricket and the network around him of family, teammates and professional support pulling him back. 

His admission is a reminder that even players who continue to appear in the public eye and perform at the highest level can be fighting private crises, and surviving often involves a mix of practical help and reasons to keep going, like children, fans or unfinished goals.

5. Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal recently opened up about a period of severe anxiety and depression after a high-profile divorce, saying he had suicidal thoughts and experienced anxiety attacks and sleepless nights. He has thanked close friends and family for their support and emphasised that public scrutiny made recovery harder. 

His confession shows a modern problem of social-media fury and public shaming can intensify private pain, and the path back usually requires both professional help and trusted confidants.

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