Yuzvendra Chahal, the 36-year-old India spinner, opened up about his personal struggles with alcohol addiction, anxiety and the impact of his divorce on his mental health and cricket career. The cricketer discussed his experience during a conversation with former India cricketer Aakash Chopra on a podcast.
Chahal revealed that excessive alcohol consumption following his divorce prompted him to seek professional help. After his last county cricket season, he felt that the situation had gone too far and checked himself into a rehabilitation centre.
"Jyaada ho gaya tha. Limit cross kardi thi (It got a bit too much. The limit was crossed). I went to a rehab center where I stayed for 26 days. Now, I know how to handle drinking—what to do, how things work," Chahal said in an interaction with Aakash Chopra on the Baith and Bol podcast.
"That made a huge difference for me. Even in my personal life, I started understanding things much more maturely. My emotions have toned down a bit. I mean, the emotions are still there. But now it’s not like they spill out over every little thing. I can handle it better. At last year’s IPL, my body felt like I was 30 years old again. I’m doing my gym work perfectly, practicing fielding, training… I realised everything fell into place once this bad habit left my life," he added.
How drinking habits began in 2011
Chahal's drinking habits initially started around 2011 during the early days of his IPL career, fueled by parties and youth. He explained that he did not realise the dangers of excessive consumption until he learned more about the subject. Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers had once advised him that balance was crucial in life, a lesson that would later become significant in his recovery journey.
"In the beginning, we used to do it at parties. We were young blood. When the IPL first happened in 2011, we partied heavily for three years. So that was one phase. But you don't realize things until you read and learn about them—that anything in excess is bad," He said.
"AB de Villiers sir once told me that no matter what you do in life, balance is crucial. It sounds like a very easy word, but when you actually try to do it, balancing everything is extremely hard. He said even if you can manage a little balance, it's better. When it went overboard, my mental state wasn't great at the time—this was after my divorce. So I crossed that line. Then one day it hit me: If I keep doing this, the thing I love most, the reason I reached where I am today—my cricket—will never survive. I felt cricket was getting affected. Even if performance wasn't directly hit because I was mentally strong, I could definitely have done much better. My body could have been in much better shape, right? My bowling was fine, but I could have worked better in the gym, improved things, even in my personal life. My cricket wasn't affected that much, but my personal life suffered a lot from it. So then I decided: let's leave this behind. Now I'm happy. I enjoy life, have fun, go out, go go-karting, play golf. I'm in a much better space now," he added.
Chahal's personal life became a subject of public commentary following his divorce, which affected his mental state and cricket. Public scrutiny of his personal matters weighed heavily on him during this period. He took a break from the game that year and played only two white-ball matches, avoiding T20s due to concerns about his mindset.
"When you are a public figure you basically give everyone an invitation to comment on your personal life. When things started to be said about my personal life, it felt bad. It also had an effect on my cricket," Chahal said.
"Had to take a break that year. I played two games with white ball that year, then didn’t play T20s because my mindset was not right. It led to anxiety among other things," he added.
Understanding anxiety and its physical symptoms
Anxiety manifested in Chahal with physical symptoms that were difficult to manage. The condition caused him distress during panic attacks, affecting his ability to communicate and function normally. He described the experience as causing a rapid heartbeat, facial changes, and an inability to speak clearly.
"Anxiety is like your heart starts beating really fast from the inside. My face used to shrink during a panic attack. I couldn't even speak. Sometimes when it happened, my lips would get so tight and pulled to one side that you could easily figure out something was wrong with me," Chahal said.
"That's when I realized these things were happening. Then I took steps to address it, and as it gradually faded away, I was like, 'Forget what happened. People on social media will keep on talking, you can't shut them up. Let's start fresh," he added.
Following his recovery, Chahal credited his family and best friend for standing firmly by him during his difficult period. During the last IPL season after his rehabilitation, his body felt rejuvenated, allowing him to train, gym, and complete fielding drills with peak intensity. He also noted that his emotional maturity had improved significantly.
"I am much more mature. Now I don’t need that substance just to talk or function," Chahal concluded.
