“Badri told me: ‘If you are good enough, no one can stop you from playing at the highest level’. And, Bala said: ‘Life is about handling embarrassments’. At that time, it sounded something big. But when I started experiencing, I understood it really well,” Vijay Shankar spoke on Star Sports’ show ‘Mind Masters by MFORE’.

“After the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka in 2018 (where he struggled in the final but India won), I was embarrassed. While overcoming the embarrassments, I remembered the points the duo shared with me and it helped,” he added.

Meanwhile, India and Tamil Nadu opening batsman Abhinav Mukund, who also has a rich cricket background, felt mental health is an underrated subject. “We learnt a lot by watching others, the routines they did and the mental practices they followed. Only after playing a lot of cricket, I learnt how much our subconscious and conscious minds help us,” Mukund said on the same show.

“We spend a certain amount of time on our batting, bowling and fitness. We need to give that time to mental training as well. Over the last 10-15 years, cricketers in Tamil Nadu have rarely done that,” added Mukund.