India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal finally broke his silence on his divorce saga with Dhanashree Verma. The duo, married for nearly five years, were granted a divorce by the Bombay High Court on March 20. Chahal spoke about his relationship with his former wife and said that he was having suicidal thoughts in the last few months of their marriage.
Speaking on the Raj Shamani podcast, Chahal said that he was having anxiety attacks and had asked for a break from his state cricket team during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, held in the months of December-January (2024–25).
“I got anxiety attacks, I was in depression. I had suicidal thoughts, I watched so many things about myself on social media. I wanted a break from cricket. I started shivering due to anxiety, I was sweating despite the AC being on,” Yuzvendra Chahal said on the podcast.
The spinner explained the reason behind the breakdown of their marriage, stating that they were not compatible in the end. Chahal said that the duo came into a relationship with different expectations, and the marriage suffered after he was not able to give a lot of time to his wife due to his cricketing commitments.
“A relationship is like a compromise. If one gets angry, the other has to listen. Sometimes the nature of two people does not match. I was playing for India, she was also doing her thing, we were not able to meet much. This was going on for 1–2 years,” Chahal said.
“At that point, I was so much into dividing time in my work. I was not able to think about the relationship. And when that happens every day, you think, leave it. Two ambitious people can stay together. Everyone has their own lives. Everyone has their own goals. As a partner, you have to support it. You are working for something for 18–20 years, you cannot leave it for a relationship. The person has worked very hard on building his life,” he added.
Yuzvendra Chahal on His Red Flags
The spinner was asked about his own bad traits in the relationship. Chahal explained that he was not able to express himself well, which turned out to be an issue. However, the spinner added that he has worked on the same and is trying to be a better person for his partner.
“My red flags are that I do not speak a lot, I do not express myself a lot, and I am working on that. I do not express sadness and happiness well. When you are sad, you think that the person in front of you should be sad as well. And that was probably wrong. I am very calm now. I was not aggressive. I get angry very rarely, and it comes out badly. I do not abuse in fights, I do not get physical, I speak very respectfully,” Chahal said.
The spinner was criticised by a section of social media for looking happy and allegedly taking digs at his former wife. The criticism stemmed from a T-shirt that he wore during his divorce filing.
Chahal argued that he was happy because he had gone through the worst phase of his life and had every right to be happy.
“When I got divorced, I was happy. I think some people must have been jealous about it. I had seen the worst phase 3–4 months leading up to that, and my friends helped me through it,” he said.
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