Mohammed Shami is considered one of the top Indian cricket team fast bowlers in the recent times but his journey has not been without its fair share of challenges. He was India’s leading wicket-taker in the last three editions of the ODI World Cup but his personal life also made the headlines over the years. Shami went through a tumultuous separation with wife Hasin Jahan as she lodged a police complaint against him for domestic violence. She also accused Shami of match-fixing after taking money from a Pakistani woman. While Shami was cleared of those allegations by the authorities, his friend Umesh Kumar revealed on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast that Shami contemplated suicide during that time.

“Shami was fighting with everything during that phase. He lived with me in my house. But when the fixing allegations with Pakistan broke, and led to a probe that night, he was shattered. He said that I can tolerate everything but not allegations of betraying my country,” Umesh said on the podcast.

“It also came in the news that he wanted to do something drastic that night [end his life]. It was around 4 AM in the morning when I got up to drink water. I was on my way to the kitchen when I saw that he was standing on the balcony. It was the 19th floor we were living in. I understood what happened. That night of Shami’s career, I feel, was the longest. Later, one day, when we were talking, he got a message on his phone saying he got a clean chit from the committee that was investigating the matter. He was probably happier that day than he would have been if he had won a World Cup,” he added.

Shami also opened up about his struggle and what he was going through during that period.

“It depends on what you prioritise more and then on the other person on how true his/her statements are. So when you know that the other person’s actions are invalid and not important to you, you should not leave your priorities. If I had not been the Mohammed Shami, I am today, no one would have cared about my situation, and neither would the media be interested in it. Then why should I leave the thing that made me Shami. So you have to keep fighting,” he said.