Sachin Tendulkar lauds Virat Kohli for opening up about depression

Sachin Tendulkar took to social media to applaud Virat Kohli after the Indian captain shared his personal experience with depression. Speaking on Mark Nicholas' ‘Not Just Cricket' podcast, Kohli recently addressed his battle with depression during India's tour of England in 2014.

Virat Kohli had a disastrous tour to England seven years ago, scoring just 134 in 10 innings, at a paltry average of 13.4. The Indian skipper also revealed he had a chat with Sachin Tendulkar about the mental side of the game after that unsuccessful tour.

Sachin Tendulkar has now applauded Kohli for his success and posted a Tweet saying:

.@imVkohli, proud of your success & decision to share such personal experiences.These days youngsters are constantly judged on social media. Thousands speak about them but not to them.We need to be able to listen to them and help them flourish. https://t.co/xsBThtzOTx

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 20, 2021

Virat Kohli had recently revealed his fight against depression. Speaking on Mark Nicholas' podcast, the 32-year-old said:

"I did (feel depressed). It's not a great feeling when wake up knowing that you won't be able to score any runs and I think all batsmen have felt that at some stage or the other that you are not in control of anything at all. And you just don't understand how to get over it."

Since the 2014 tour of England, Virat Kohli has gone from strength to strength and is arguably the best batsman in world cricket at the moment. He made his mark in English conditions during India's next tour to the UK in 2018, scoring 593 runs at an average of 59.3, including two centuries.

Virat Kohli reveals the advice from Tendulkar that changed his mindset

Sachin Tendulkar helped Virat Kohli after India's tour of England in 2014

Virat Kohli also revealed a particular piece of advice from Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar that helped him change his mindset.

"The thing that he (Sachin Tendulkar) told me was, in cricket, what he experienced was if you are going through a strong negative feeling and if that is coming into your system regularly, it is best to let it pass. If you start fighting that feeling, it grows stronger. So, that is the advice I took on board, and my mindset really opened up from then on." Kohli said.

The 32-year-old is currently leading Team India against England in a four-match Test series which is tied at 1-1. The third match of the series begins on February 24 in Ahmedabad and will be a day-night encounter.

Consistency is the 🔑 pic.twitter.com/GybCwqFgCl

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) February 19, 2021