India’s dashing opener, Virender Sehwag, on Kaun Banega Crorepati’s ‘Shandar Shukravaar’ episode revealed that he suffered with mental health issues in the initial phase of his cricket career. The 42-year-old said that he felt the pressure of not understanding and being able to speak English when he received the man of the match award for the first time. 

Virendra Sehwag and former Indian skipper and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly faced ‘computer ji’ in the Shandaar Shukravaar episode that aired on Friday, September 3. 

They were asked about the reason behind Naomi Osaka pulling out of the 2021 French Open earlier this year. 

Explaining her reason behind the decision in an Instagram post, which was later deleted, Osaka said, “I’m writing this to say I’m not going to do any press during Roland Garros,” she wrote, per British Vogue. “I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes’ mental health and this rings true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one.

“We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me,” the 23-year-old continued, likening questions about losses to “kicking a person while they’re down.”

She added, “I’ve watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room and I know you have as well.”

Sehwag and Ganguly both agreed that mental health has become an important part of an athletes life. The former further spoke about the way bio-bubbles and the pandemic has been impacting the current lot of cricketers.