Madhya Pradesh cricketer Aryaman Birla plied his trade in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 and 2019 editions.
Aryaman Birla (L) with Rajasthan Royals cricketers Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. (Photo: Twitter/@AryamanBirla)
Madhya Pradesh and former Rajasthan Royals batsman Aryaman Birla announced on Friday that he is suffering from “severe anxiety related to the sport” and is taking an indefinite break from cricket.
Taking to his official social media handles, the 22-year-old cricketer, who also happens to be the son of Aditya Birla Group chief Kumar Mangalam Birla, left a detailed note about his current situation.
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— Aryaman Birla (@AryamanBirla) December 20, 2019
Birla’s note said, “It’s been a journey of hard work, perseverance, dedication and immense courage to get to this point in my cricket career. However, I’ve been coping with severe anxiety related to the sport for a while now.”
“I’ve felt trapped. I’ve pushed myself through all the distress so far, but now I feel the need to put my mental health and wellbeing above all else,” the note further said.
Declaring his decision to take the break, Birla said, “And so, I’ve decided to take an undefined sabbatical from cricket. This lovely sport is an integral part of my life and I hope to be back on the field when the time is right.”
Birla played his debut first-class match against Odisha in 2017 and has since appeared in nine such games. He has the highest score of 103 not-out and last played a match in January this year against Andhra Pradesh.
The MP cricketer has also plied his trade in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Rajasthan Royals. He was with the Jaipur-based team for 2018 and 2019 edition but never featured in a playing eleven. Birla was released ahead of the IPL 2020 auction.
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