'It Crossed All Limits': Yuzvendra Chahal Opens Up About His Alcoholism And The Way Back

IPL's highest wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal opened up about his alcoholism and personal life on a YouTube podcast with Aakash Chopra. Chahal said that had he continued on that path, he would have lost the thing he loved most—cricket.

Chahal, often referred to as Yuzi, is known to be a fun character. His unusual humour on the internet has received a lot of applause, winning him lakhs of followers. However, Yuzi faced a slump in his personal and professional career. He was ousted from the national team while already dealing with a broken marriage.

Aakash Chopra asked Chahal: "Yuzi, you are the guy who has made everyone laugh. You are like a livewire on the field, but when you were going through problems in your personal life, was there anybody with you? This is the lowest of the low. The emotional scars when a crisis happens in personal life are different, unlike anything we go through in professional life."

"My best friend and family were there," Chahal replied.

"So when did you decide to give up alcohol?" Chopra then asked.

"After county cricket last year. It crossed all limits, so I checked into a rehab centre and stayed there for 26 days. Now, I know how to handle it. That decision made a massive difference to my personal life. My maturity increased. My emotions are balanced now. Last IPL, my body felt like I was 30 years old again—doing gym work, fielding drills and training properly," he said.

'Things Got Excessive After Divorce'

Chopra further asked how his alcoholism started in the first place, to which Chahal replied: "Initially, I was young. There were parties. In 2011, I played my first IPL. AB de Villiers once told me, 'Balance is key in life.' It sounds easy, but it is not. Things got excessive after my divorce, and my mental state was not that great."

"I realised that if I continued down that path, I would ruin the very thing I love most—cricket. So I put an end to it, and now I am in a much happier and better space," said Chahal.

Chahal last represented India way back in 2023. His last match came against the West Indies in the 2023 series. Chahal recently retired from first-class cricket; he was never picked for India's Test squad.

A Period Of Anxiety And Panic Attacks

In another part of the video, Aakash Chopra asked him about his personal life "getting played out in public" and how he reacted to it.

"When you have a public profile as a public figure, everything happening in your life becomes an invitation for people to comment. I felt bad, and there were a lot of difficulties. It affected my cricket as well. I played two white-ball matches that year and then didn't play T20s because my mindset wasn't right. I wasn't at 100%, and I didn't want the team to suffer because of me," he said.

"I spoke to Anirudh sir and requested a break, and he was very supportive. Eventually, I thought, 'How long will I carry this weight?' Anxiety and panic attacks started happening in my life."

He was also asked about his panic attacks.

"Anxiety is like, the heartbeat increases. For me, my face would shrink during a panic attack. I couldn't even speak; my lip would tighten and pull to one side, so people could figure out that something was wrong with me. That was the first time I realised how intense anxiety could be. Then I realised social media would say a lot of things. Let's focus on the IPL," he said.

"When it slowly subsided, I decided to let it go. Social media will keep talking; you can't shut everyone up. So I decided to start afresh. In my first year with Punjab Kings, when they paid Rs 18 crore for me, I felt, 'They trusted me with so much money; I can't let them down.' In the KKR match, while defending 111, I realised I had to step up," Chahal added.

Chahal was granted a divorce in 2025, the same year he joined Punjab Kings. He repaid the faith, picking up 16 wickets in 2025 and 12 wickets in 2026. He played a key role in Punjab reaching the final of IPL 2026.