Alcoholism, divorce and panic attacks: Yuzi Chahal opens up on his dark years

Alcohol addiction, visits to rehabilitation centres and divorce have long been taboo subjects for Indian sports celebrities, with few opening up about their personal struggles. Yuzvendra Chahal, the leg-spinner who once formed the famous Kul-Cha combination with Kuldeep Yadav in India’s white-ball setup, was an exception when he spoke about his struggles on a podcast with former India opener Aakash Chopra.

The 36-year-old, the highest wicket-taker in IPL history with 233 wickets from 188 matches, said his family and best friend helped him avoid a complete mental breakdown.

Asked when and how he managed to give up alcohol, Yuzi, known for his fun-loving demeanour, said: “After last year’s county cricket season. It crossed all limits, so I checked into a rehab centre and stayed there for 26 days. Now, I know how to handle it. That decision made a massive difference to my personal life. My maturity increased, and my emotions are balanced now. Last IPL, my body felt like I was 30 years old again — doing gym work, fielding drills and training properly.”

Chahal’s divorce from choreographer Dhanashree Verma in March 2025 attracted considerable attention on social media. The couple had reportedly been living separately since 2022. While Chahal continued to perform in the IPL, he gradually slipped out of the national team picture and began experiencing panic attacks.

Responding to Akash Chopra’s question about how he developed a drinking habit, Chahal candidly said: “Initially, I was young. There were parties. In 2011, I played my first IPL. AB de Villiers once told me, ‘Balance is key in life.’ It sounds easy, but it is not. Things got to a point where I realised that if I continued down that path, I would ruin the very thing I love most — cricket. So I put an end to it, and now I am in a much happier and better space.”

In another segment of the interview, Chahal was asked how he dealt with his personal life being played out in public.

“When you are a public figure, everything happening in your life becomes an invitation for people to comment. I felt bad, and there were a lot of difficulties. It affected my cricket as well. I played two white-ball matches that year and then didn’t play T20Is because my mindset wasn’t right. I wasn’t at 100 per cent, and I didn’t want the team to suffer because of me,” Chahal said.

His international career had been on a downward trajectory for the past three to four years.

How did he cope with the panic attacks in between? Replying to a sharp quaery from Akash, the bowler said: ‘’Anxiety is like, the heartbeat increases. For me, my face would shrink during a panic attack. I couldn't even speak; my lip would tighten and pull to one side, so people could figure out that something was wrong with me. That was the first time I realised how intense anxiety could be. Then I realised social media would say a lot of things. Let's focus on the IPL,’’ he said.

‘’When it slowly subsided, I decided to let it go. Social media will keep talking; you can't shut everyone up. I decided to start afresh. In my first year with Punjab Kings when they paid Rs 18 crore for me, I felt: ‘’They trusted me with so much money, I can't let them down. In the KKR match while defending 111, I realised I had to step up,’’ he added.

In last year’s IPL, Chahal picked 16 wickets while in 2026 he had 12 – still a far cry from his vintage form.