Usually, it&rsquo;s rare for people to admit their mistakes. However, <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-creating-false-confidence-former-national-selector-salil-ankola-after-team-india-batting-debacle-23639220" rel="nofollow">former India pacer Salil Ankola</a> showed courage by opening up about the struggles in his life, including alcoholism, and how he overcame them to make a comeback as a national selector.
Ankola, 58, who represented India in one Test and 20 ODIs between 1989 and 1997, spoke about his journey and struggles at Baazigar, a storytelling show organised by The Entertainment Factory at Mukti Munch in Versova on Sunday evening.
Ankola was 20 when he made his Test debut alongside 16-year-old <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/sachin-tendulkar-remembers-mentor-ramakant-achrekar-on-the-occasion-of-guru-purnima-23642246" rel="nofollow">Sachin Tendulkar</a> against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989. Ankola was patient and detailed as he spoke for nearly two hours on Sunday: &ldquo;After representing India in the 1996 ODI World Cup, I underwent an operation for a bone tumour in 1997. The doctor said that I would be ready in four months. But those four months never came. I realised I would not be able to play cricket anymore. At that time, Kapil paaji [Dev] had retired, Javagal Srinath was unfit and Manoj Prabhakar had been dropped, so there was a very good chance for me to cement my place in the Indian team. But my operation was unsuccessful and all my dreams came crashing down. I didn&rsquo;t know what to do. Somehow, I wanted to escape the pain.&rdquo;
Ankola hit the bottle during this phase. &ldquo;I started drinking and it felt like it reduced my pain. From the time I left cricket in 1997 until 2010, I didn&rsquo;t watch a game, apart the one when we won the 2007 T20 World Cup. I had no idea who <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/bcci-coe-head-vvs-laxman-heaps-praise-on-team-india-superstar-virat-kohli-23643925" rel="nofollow">Virat Kohli</a> or [Virender] Sehwag were. I was drinking continuously in 2006. By 2008, the quantity had risen dramatically. I had become obnoxious. It was about me, my bottle, and nothing else mattered.&rdquo;
Ankola underwent rehabilitation several times.
&ldquo;When I went to rehab in 2010, I wanted to get away from the habit, but it wasn&rsquo;t easy. I had lost everything. When I was doing a TV serial, I had no house and was actually living on the road. I had just my car. I used to take bottles, park my car in the lanes at Bandra and sleep there, unaware that just two lanes away was Sachin&rsquo;s bungalow,&rdquo; Ankola said.
Ankola credited his wife, Dr Ria, with helping him make a comeback to <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ind-vs-sl-1st-test-devdutt-padikkal-dhruv-jurel-withstand-sri-lanka-spin-test-to-take-india-to-460-9-on-rain-hit-day-23645130" rel="nofollow">cricket</a>. &ldquo;Ria insisted that I do something related to cricket. That&rsquo;s why I stopped drinking, became Mumbai chief selector. In 2023, I became an India selector. In 2024, we won the T20 World Cup [under Rohit Sharma&rsquo;s captaincy]. To contribute to India&rsquo;s World Cup triumph, not as a player but as a selector, somehow completed the circle of life for me,&rdquo; Ankola said.

Former India pacer Salil Ankola reflects on his battle with addiction and how he overcame it to become 2024 T20 World Cup-winning national selector

Former Team India's pacer Salil Ankola opens up about his struggles in life

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Former India pacer reflects on his battle with addiction and how he overcame it to become 2024 T20 World Cup-winning national selector

I had lost everything: Salil Ankola

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