Indian wrist-spin bowler Yuzvendra Chahal has spoken publicly about battling alcohol dependency and anxiety episodes that followed the breakdown of his marriage and the wave of public scrutiny directed at his private life. Appearing on Aakash Chopra's Baith & Bol podcast, Chahal described turning to mental health support once he recognised that certain patterns of behaviour had moved beyond his ability to manage them alone.

Chahal, whose place in the national squad slipped away in the period following the 2024 T20 World Cup, said that alcohol entered his life as something casual and social during his early years in the IPL, though its hold on him grew considerably harder to manage after his marriage ended last year. He disclosed that a 26-day stay at a rehabilitation facility gave him tools to process his emotions and take back control over his own life, adding that the centre had been where he remained throughout that period.

He said he has since come to understand the mechanics of managing alcohol — what to consume, when to stop, and how the process operates — and described the change as personally meaningful. He said his perspective on personal matters had shifted toward a more grounded, measured way of processing the world around him, and that the intensity of certain feelings had since settled somewhat, though those feelings had not faded entirely. He added that he no longer tends to react over every minor matter and expressed confidence in an improved ability to manage the situation.

Chahal, whose marriage to choreographer Dhanashree Verma had taken place in December 2022, said he moved into separate accommodation from June of that year, with the Bandra Family Court in Mumbai eventually dissolving the union by mutual consent in March 2025. He noted that alcohol remains part of his routine, a choice he credited with supporting his physical conditioning and the quality of his training sessions. He said that while his performance on the field had not taken much of a hit, the toll on his personal life had been considerably heavier.

He said he made a choice to move on and put the period behind him, describing his current state of mind as one of greater calm and stability and saying a sense of contentment had taken hold. He said staying active and having fun now guide his agenda — whether through go-karting, golf, or simply spending time outdoors.

The cricketer, who had turned out in the County Championship before stepping away from first-class cricket, noted that gatherings of that kind were a routine part of life for younger players during the IPL's opening seasons, adding that such behaviour at social events had been widespread from the outset. He recalled that those involved were at an early stage of their careers at the time, and that once the IPL got underway in 2011, festivities carried on at full intensity for roughly three years.

He said that in the period after his divorce — a time he described as one of mounting mental health difficulties — his alcohol consumption grew heavier, and he eventually came to recognise those habits as a risk to his cricketing future. He recalled advice from AB de Villiers — his former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate — about keeping life in balance, noting that when things tipped too far in one direction, his state of mind had suffered, a period he tied to the time following his divorce. He said that boundary was crossed and that a realisation took hold without warning, telling reporters that staying on the same course had put his career in the sport at risk of ending altogether.

Chahal also opened up about bouts of anxiety he went through during a turbulent stretch in his personal life. He noted that media coverage of his divorce had taken a toll on him personally and had carried over into his performances on the pitch, describing anxiety as a sensation where the heart pounds rapidly from within. He said that during panic attacks, the muscles around his face would tighten and draw inward, and that words would leave him entirely in those moments. He recalled that the muscles around his mouth would tighten and pull noticeably to one side during those episodes, making the physical change visible enough for others to detect that something was off.

He added that the mental health difficulties he was navigating had an impact on his availability for white-ball cricket, as the attention directed at his personal life made participation harder to sustain, noting that when commentary about his private circumstances began to surface, it left him feeling hurt. He said the experience carried consequences for the cricket side of things as well, and that his participation in white-ball cricket that season amounted to just two matches, after which T20 formats fell away from his schedule due to a mental approach that was not where it needed to be. Chahal noted that the experience brought on anxiety, among other effects.

He said he chose to set aside the online commentary and turn his attention to what lay ahead, noting that public life inherently opens the door to scrutiny of one's personal affairs and that the flow of opinion on social media platforms was not something anyone could simply switch off. His remarks at the close gestured toward forgiveness and a path forward.