England's 2019 World Cup hero and current Test team skipper Ben Stokes has finally spoken up on the mental health issues that made him take a break from the sport in 2021. The all-rounder revealed he was still on anxiety medication after returning from a six-month break which was necessary for his own wellbeing.
Stokes took a rest from the game to focus on himself mentally after suffering from a series of panic attacks after the loss of his father to brain cancer in 2019. The 31-year-old announced in July he would retire from ODI cricket due to the 'unsustainable' scheduling and the prospect of playing all three formats of the game.
Stokes said that he felt deep resentment towards the sport of cricket after taking the break because he was unable to visit his dying father as much as he wanted.
“The last time I saw Dad was leaving New Zealand to go to the Indian Premier League – that was dictated by cricket. He wanted me to go, he really loved me playing for Rajasthan Royals and the people there. But it made me hate cricket, I thought it was the reason I didn’t see my dad before he died. I should have opened up about it sooner – I just thought ‘cricket, cricket, cricket’. It’s not a regret … but I’d do things differently,” he said in an interview with Telegraph.
“So I had a real thing with cricket at the time I took a break. I was really angry at the sport because it was dictating when I could see my dad,” the star al-rounder added.
Importance of opening up about mental health
Stokes stressed upon the importance of opening up about mental health issues, adding it was not human nature to pretend to be fine.
“I find sometimes people are a bit nervous to go into the detail about that kind of stuff with me. It’s perceived you can’t feel a certain way – that’s a sign of weakness to show that you are not mentally feeling great,” he said.
“People think they can’t ask people who have struggled. No. It’s fine. I’ll happily tell you as much as I possibly can.”
