5 cricketers who pulled out of a series/tournament due to mental health issues

Mental health issues are considered to be quite a taboo in many parts of the world. Often, people who are suffering various mental ailments fear speaking out about the same in public. There is so often a fear of being judged if they come out with such problems. But it is important to realise that mental health issues are like any other physical ailments.

In the past, however, several cricketers have come out and laid a precedent by speaking to the world about mental health problems. Considering their situation, they did not mind pulling out of a series or a tournament. Such cricketers have shown the world how to deal with these problems and here is a look at a few of them.

5. Marcus Trescothick

English cricketer Marcus Trescothick is one of those cricketers who spoke about his mental health problems. The cricketer suffered from mental health issues when he was at the peak of his career. In between the tour of India in 2006, he decided to go back home and later revealed that he was dealing with depression. Moreover, he even returned just two weeks into the tour of Australia in 2006-07. He even had to call it quits from cricket due to his mental health issues.

4. Jonathan Trott

Jonathan Trott is another cricketer who was hit by mental health issues when he was at the peak of his career. Just as he was cementing his spot as one of the most important batsmen in the England side across all the formats, he was hit by a few issues. Despite being a part of the Ashes 2013 squad, he decided to end his career abruptly and stated ‘long-standing stress-related condition’ as the reason. He played county cricket after his retirement but quit that as well due to an anxiety disorder.

3. Glenn Maxwell

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell also suffered from mental health issues and took a small break from cricket in 2019. The all-rounder opted out of two T20Is of the three-match series against Sri Lanka. However, he returned to playing cricket in about a couple of months’ time and did well in the Big Bash League (BBL) for his team. He was praised by Australia’s head coach Justin Langer for his courage in admitting that he was dealing with mental health issues.

2. Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor is another cricketer who suffered from a similar fate. She, for several years, was the backbone of the England team and has achieved several laurels. She was instrumental in the T20 World Cup win in 2009 and then the 50-over World Cup win in 2017. The wicket-keeper, however, kept suffering from mental health issues all the while. After a lot of breaks in between and a lot of deliberation, she decided to hang her boots citing anxiety as the reason.

1. Will Pucovski

Young Australian cricketer Will Pucovski is another one who had to fight with his inner demons. Towards the end of 2018, he revealed that he was taking a break from cricket due to mental health issues. He was later selected for the series against Sri Lanka in January 2019. However, after not being picked in the eleven, he was released from the squad at the start of the Canberra Test to work further on his mental health issues. Later in 2019, he again withdrew from Test contention despite having a solid chance of making it to the squad for the series against Pakistan.