Anxiety-hit Aryaman takes sabbatical

Twenty-two-year-old Aryaman Birla, the opening batsman for the Madhya Pradesh cricket team, has taken an “indefinite sabbatical from cricket,” citing “severe anxiety related to the sport for a while now.” Incidently, Aryaman is the son of billionaire industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla.

More cricketers seek breaks for mental issues abroad than in India, but they have psychologists to look after them. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has no specialists to deal with such issues. Players have to seek counselling on their own.

“We don’t have even a masseur, leave alone a psychologist,” a key member of the Madhya Pradesh cricket team said.

According to renowned sports psychologist, Vardayani Chitale/Gore, many players approach her to help them become mentally tougher because sometimes even the smallest things put a lot of pressure on them. “There are billions of people in India, and yet only 11 get selected to represent the country. It feels like a lot of pressure already.

Even before the question of performance comes up, the pressure of being selected is a stimulus for anxiety. That in turn generates performance pressure. It’s not easy to make it big.” There is tremendous competition in all sports, but cricket bears the brunt of it because of the passion the game generates and its reach in India, she says.

When Aryaman first came to MP, he was known because of his last name. “Birla’s son”... “Birla’s grandson” were terms used to identify him all the time. But through his performance, he changed perceptions, and people started seeing him as a young achiever. But for a cricketer, the ultimate satisfaction is when he gets selected to play for the country. And not every talented player is lucky here.

“This phase has been difficult, but it has also helped me realise who my real friends and well-wishers are. I truly believe I’ll emerge from this phase even stronger than before,” said young Aryaman in an Instagram post. Though nobody knows the exact reason for his sudden decision, experts say there is a lot of pressure on young players at every level in the game of cricket.

However, Sanjay Rastogi, who runs a cricket academy in Meerut (UP) which has produced cricketers like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Priyam Garg (Under-19 captain) and several others, says, “The competition may not be as tough as it is made out to be, because, there is a lot of cricket played at different levels and players get good chances to demonstrate their prowess.”

The pressure players face:
Fear of failure; high expectations from parents, coaches and teammates.
Pressure to achieve.
Pressure to stay injury-free. One injury leads to a poor season and then cricketers get overlooked by selectors.
Fear of not being selected.

How to deal with tough times
Seek help from coaches or a sports psychologist if needed.
Build a circle of trusted people and heed their advice/suggestions. Don’t let others bog you down.
If you feel burned out, take the help of a psychologist to take a break and also make a comeback.