India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru star bowler Shreyanka Patil has revealed her battle with depression and the thoughts of quitting cricket when she was hampered by a 14-month injury layoff between 2024 and 2025. Shreyanka was forced to remain out of action due to a succession of injuries, which included shin splints, a wrist issue and a fractured thumb that saw her miss the Women’s Premier League 2025 and the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup.
Shreyanka, during an interview with ESPNCricinfo, had revealed she was “hurt” for not being part of major tournaments for a long time, as she felt that she would be back “in two or three months” but “never imagined I wouldn’t be on the field for more than a year.”
Shreyanka reveals battle with depression
The off-spinner has now revealed that she battled depression and even thought of leaving the sport. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t depressed or that I didn’t think about giving up cricket,” Shreyanka said on JioStar after India defeated Pakistan by 64 runs in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.ย
The RCB star revealed how she battled with those thoughts, citing the ones who were with her during her challenging period. “That’s how I felt initially during the injury phase. But there was a voice inside me saying, ‘No matter what, I love playing this sport. I’m here only because I love playing it.’ย
“So, I couldn’t give up on something I love doing. I kept my head high, my dad kept talking to me, and my family supported me throughout. The atmosphere around me and the strong support system I had, I was always surrounded by great people. That kept me going. I love being back on the field now, and I won’t let that feeling go.”
Shreyanka had a chat with Bumrah and other CoE cricketers
In the ESPNCricinfo interview earlier, she stated that India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah spoke to her about the technicalities and how to fight the injuries. “I had so many questions,” Shreyanka said as quoted by the website. “About bowling under pressure, about practising yorkers. Even though he’s a fast bowler and I’m a spinner, I bowl at the death too. He told me, ‘This is okay, everyone goes through it.’ He said I’m facing it at a young age, so don’t fight it. Just be in it.'”
The spinner had also stated that she had informal chats with other cricketers present at the CoE – Riyan Parag, Mayank Yadav, Asha Sobhana and Amanjot Kaur as she made her way outside of that silent bubble.
“I wasn’t talking to anyone at the start. I locked myself in a room for two or three months,” she said. “That wasn’t me. I’m usually very bubbly. But talking to people made me realise I wasn’t alone.”
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