When Kapil Dev's Great Peer, Sir Richard Hadlee, Had Depression

Kapil Dev, Sir Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Ian Botham. They were the Mount Rushmore of cricket in terms of allround greatness. (More Cricket News)

Dev was a natural athlete. He did not lack for effort either. His overall approach to cricket, like that of Virender Sehwag or K Srikkanth, was relatively uncomplicated.   

Therefore, he wore the demands of the game lightly. In a 16-year-career, in which he played 131 Tests, he did not miss a single Test due to injury.  

Dev is just the personality type that would find it hard to empathise with mental health matters. At a recent event, he said, 바카라�If a player has passion [to play], there will be no pressure. I can바카라�t understand these American terms, like depression. I바카라�m a farmer and we play because we enjoy the game, and there can바카라�t be any pressure while enjoying the game.바카라�  

It did not occur to Dev that passion and pressure often co-exist. In fact, an athlete, or any professional with some talent, occupies three inter-linked states of being 바카라� feeling passion for their work, having ambitions and feeling pressure. The ambition to excel, to prove yourself, almost always leads to fear of failure, which results in pressure. The biggest of stars have faced it.  

Dev also forgot social media. There was none in his time. A player did not have to suffer online abuse from millions. There were no hysterical TV channels either, questioning every move of the Indian team.  

Dev might be India바카라�s greatest cricketer, but there were occasions when he would have been trolled had social media existed then. Towards the end of his career, it was an open secret that he was in the team mainly to get to the world record for most Test wickets (the mark of 431 set by Hadlee).  

He was laboring along. In his last 14 Test innings 바카라� from November 1992 to March 1994 바카라� Dev took more than two wickets in an innings only on two occasions.  

Selectors were relieved once he got the record. But, it recently came to light that Dev still wanted to play two more years. Former Indian opener Anshuman Gaekwad, who was a selector then, then convinced him to close the chapter.  

Recently, at a function in Mumbai, Gaekwad recalled the episode. According to him, he told Dev, 바카라�The selectors feel that you should retire now. I think you also agree with that. You can choose your farewell game as per your preference, but you should call it a day.바카라� 

To Dev바카라�s credit, he agreed.  

So, for Dev to say that a contemporary player should not play the IPL if he feels pressured by it is smug and simplistic.  

Now, to the 바카라�American term바카라� called 바카라�depression바카라�, and the Mount Rushmore bunch mentioned above.  

Dev could remind himself that Hadlee suffered depression, and of such severity that he thought of ending it all at just age 32.  

Hadlee바카라�s condition was triggered by exhaustion, caused by his increasing commitments and fame, around 1983.  

"I had no desire or strength to train or run a lap of the park. I was mentally and physically exhausted,바카라� Hadlee said in an interview to stuff.co.nz. "Some of the symptoms I had were headaches, heart palpitations, dizzy spells, total negativity to everything.  

바카라�As time went on you have a lot of self-doubt and you start thinking very negatively and questioning the will to live.바카라� 

Endless demands on his time led him down a slippery slope, Hadlee said. And he took the blame for becoming a 바카라�yes man바카라�. 

"A lot of people would want you to do things: `Can you appear here? Can you do this? Can you do that?' You didn't want to let them down. And so being a `yes' man, you are on a plane going up and down the country appearing in three or four events a day,바카라� he said. 바카라�Then it starts to get on top of you and boy, you get into a real hole.바카라� 

It could be said that Hadlee had a bit of selfish interest in taking on so many engagements in the first place. But that does not take away from the legitimacy of his condition.  

Hadlee바카라�s healing came from having a support group, taking a break and then coming back by setting small goals for himself.  

It is unlikely anyone said to him, 바카라�I can바카라�t understand these American terms like depression.바카라�