Stayed in rehab center for 26 days: Chahal reveals battle with alcohol addiction

India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has opened up about his struggles with alcohol addiction and anxiety attacks, revealing how the end of his marriage and the scrutiny surrounding his personal life affected his mental health. Chahal said he sought professional help after realising that his drinking had gone too far and that he needed to make a change.

Speaking on former India cricketer Aakash Chopra's Baith & Bol podcast, 36-year-old Chahal reflected on how drinking began as a social activity during his early years in the IPL before becoming harder to manage following his divorce. He said a 26-day stay at a rehabilitation centre helped him manage his emotions better and regain control of his life.

"I went to a rehab centre where I stayed for 26 days. Now, I know how to handle drinking, what to do, how things work. That made a huge difference for me. Even in my personal life, I started understanding things much more maturely. My emotions have toned down a bit. I mean, the emotions are still there. But now it's not like they spill out over every little thing. I can handle it better," Chahal said.

Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma, who married in December 2020, began living separately in June 2022 and were granted a divorce by mutual consent by the Bandra Family Court in Mumbai in March 2025.

The leg-spinner added that giving up alcohol had helped him rediscover his physical fitness and focus more consistently on training. While he felt his performances had not suffered significantly, he acknowledged that his personal life had taken a considerable hit.

"My cricket wasn't affected that much, but my personal life suffered a lot from it. So then I decided, let's leave this behind. Now I'm happy. I enjoy life, have fun, go out, go go-karting, play golf. I'm in a much better space now," he said.

Yuzvendra Chahal traced his drinking habits to the early years of the IPL, recalling how partying became part of life when he was a young cricketer. He said the situation worsened after his divorce, when he was struggling mentally and began to recognise the possible consequences for his career.

"In the beginning, we used to do it at parties. We were young blood. When the IPL first happened in 2011, we partied heavily for three years," he said.

Chahal also recalled advice from former South Africa captain AB de Villiers about the importance of maintaining balance in life. He said he eventually realised that excessive drinking could affect the sport that had brought him success.

"When it went overboard, my mental state wasn't great at the time, this was after my divorce. So I crossed that line. Then one day it hit me. If I keep doing this, the thing I love most, the reason I reached where I am today, my cricket, will never survive," Chahal said.

ANXIETY ATTACKS TOOK A TOLL

Chahal also spoke about the anxiety attacks he experienced during a difficult period in his personal life. He said the public discussion surrounding his divorce affected him deeply and took a toll on his cricket, forcing him to take a break when he was not in the right frame of mind.

"Anxiety is like your heart starts beating really fast from the inside. My face used to shrink during a panic attack. I couldn't even speak. Sometimes when it happened, my lips would get so tight and pulled to one side that you could easily figure out something was wrong with me," he said.

The leg-spinner revealed that the situation affected his availability in white-ball cricket that year, as he struggled to cope with the pressure surrounding his personal life.

"When things started to be said about my personal life, it felt bad. It also had an effect on my cricket. I had to take a break that year. I played two games with white ball that year, then didn't play T20s because my mindset was not right. It led to anxiety among other things," Chahal said.

He added that he eventually decided to stop dwelling on online commentary and focus on moving forward.

"When you are a public figure you basically give everyone an invitation to comment on your personal life," he said. "People on social media will keep on talking, you can't shut them up. Let's start fresh."

Chahal, who recently retired from first-class cricket, remains the leading wicket-taker in IPL history with 233 wickets. He has also taken 217 wickets across 72 ODIs and 80 T20Is for India, establishing himself as one of the country's most successful white-ball spinners.

The leg-spinner has not played for India since August 2023. He was part of the T20 World Cup squad in 2024, but the leg-spinner did not get any game time.