Kolkata : Indian pacer Mohammed Shami’s close friend Umesh Kumar recalled Shami’s suicide incident ‘standing at balcony’. He opened up about the time and incidents that led to his suicidal thoughts.
What Events Led to?
Mohammed Shami’s journey has not been easy, as life had many challenges for him. He had a tragic personal life with his ex-wife Hasin Jahan , who filed a divorce against him in 2018 claiming domestic violence and infidelity.
Though he denied all these allegations saying these were done to malign his image.
Adding salt to the wounds, in ICC T20 WC 2021 , Pakistan clinched a 10 wickets win against India. Shami had a dismal outing that eve, with an expensive spell of 43 runs before completing 4 overs.
Allegations of “Match fixing” and religious abuse were hurled at Shami to the point where investigations were held on him regarding Match fixing. Then-skipper Virat Kohli and many other Cricketers supported him.
Recalling this tough phase in his career, Umesh Kumar recalled the incident in a podcast saying, “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.”
Night of Suicide attempt
Umesh Kumar recalled the incident of Shami’s suicide attempt from his building where Shami used to live with him. Umesh said, he was standing at 19th floor balcony , tensed, at night.
“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.
Mohammed Shami – The comeback Man
Mohammed Shami, through all phases had been known for comebacks. After this tough phase, Shami became a bowler like never before. His notable performance included record 24 wickets in ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
Shami, who’s in a hiatus with leg injury is set to make a comeback in September, Bangladesh series.
