'While I Was In India...': KL Rahul's IPL 2021 Teammate Opens Up On Mental Health Struggles

Australian pacer Jhye Richardson has revealed his mental health challenges that he faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The right-arm pacer shared that his struggles began during the IPL season 2021.

Australian fast bowler Jhye Richardson has spoken candidly about his mental health challenges that he faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The right-arm pacer shared that many of his struggles began during the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2021 and he now regrets participating in the IPL while dealing with that mental state. Richardson was a member of the KL Rahul-led Punjab Kings (PBKS), where he played alongside teammates Mohammed Shami and Chris Gayle.

Richardson secured his first IPL contract ahead of the 2021 season, earning a massive ₹14 crore from the PBKS. However, the 27-year-old struggled to live up to the price tag, taking only three wickets in as many matches at an average of 39. He made a return to the IPL with the Delhi Capitals for the 2024 season but featured in just one game.

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Should Not Have Left Home For IPL: Jhye Richardson

In an interview with cricket.com.au, Richardson admitted that the difficulty of returning home from the IPL added a lot of stress. He emphasised the importance of mental health, especially for young players, encouraging them to continuously work on it.

"A lot of it started during COVID. My trip to the IPL – I left home not in the headspace that I probably should have been. Then things sort of hit the fan while I was away, and everything with COVID and not being able to get home and stuff like that, it just toppled on top of each other." Richardson said.

"I think you don't realise what sort of space you're in until it becomes too much, which is why now I encourage a lot of young cricketers to work on their mental health – even if they think that they're going okay,” he added.

RIchardson Sought Professional Help To Battle Mental Health Challenges

Richardson said that things got so worse that he had to seek professional health for the mental health challenges that he was battling.

"Everything just got to a point where there was some professional intervention that needed to happen. I'm not willing to go into a whole lot of detail, but I just landed in a spot where things were bad enough that I stepped back and said, 'I can't continue thinking the way that I am' and (needed) to get a bit more education and knowledge about how the brain works."

Richardson emphasised that there’s a lot less judgement about someone going through a mental battle and how the resources these days can make the process of dealing with the mental health challenges easier.

"A lot of the judgment has gone nowadays. Within our (WA) group we trust everyone with the way that they want to go about things. People are individuals – they train different ways, they think differently. The resources within cricket nowadays make the process of dealing with mental health issues a lot easier and there is a lot more education there. But as someone who has dealt with anxiety, not just on the field but away from cricket and day-to-day living, it can be quite exhausting."