I started weeping, locked myself in my room, wanted to quit cricket...Then I sought external help

RAshwin speaks on mental-health issues and how the perceptions of him being an over-thinker’ affected his leadership chances. This session was moderated by Senior Assistant Editor Venkata Krishna B

IN the recently concluded series against England, layed a R Ashwin, India's leading spinner, crossed the big role in India beating England 4-1. He countered England's aggressive brand of cricket, known as Bazball, to be the leading wicket-taker in the series. Ashwin is known for his strategic planning and he often outthinks batsmen with his guile. An articulate cricketer, he speaks his mind and has a strong opinion on cricketing matters

BCCI told top cricketers that skipping domestic cricket when not on national duty would have its implications. The BCCI felt some cricketers were prioritising IPL over red-ball/domestic cricket. But when cricketers play all three formats and also take mental-health breaks, should the BCCI insist on that? Sometimes when an organisation takes a stand, it might not suit everyone, it might not work in favour of everyone, it might be detrimental to a few people. What we must understand here is the message being conveyed by the organisational body. It said we are prioritising Test cricket, IPL is not everything as far as we are concerned. They are saying Test cricket is of paramount importance and we are going to promote it. In my view, they are making all the right noises.

At the same time, whether a cricketerwants to do all the 12 months, or only wants to do the two months or whether theywant to be relevant playing T20 cricket and one-day cricket and do not want to be playing Test cricket, is their choice.

SANDEEP DWIVEDI: Is there a trend among the younger generation of cricketers to market themselves on social media in a certain way? Like posting videos before selection day, wishing happy birthday to a certain group etc.