India pacer Mohammed Shami had revealed in an interview that he had suicidal thoughts when his image and reputation was tarnished by his former wife Hasin Jahan.
And now his friend Umesh Kumar has corroborated Shami's comment by revealing that he found the right-arm fast bowler standing alone on the balcony at 4 am in the morning.
Kumar opened up on the tough phase in Shami's personal life after he was accused of adultery and even match-fixing by Hasin Jahan.
"Shami was fighting with everything during that phase. He lived with me in my house. But when the fixing allegations with Pakistan broke, and led to a probe that night, he was shattered. He said that I can tolerate everything but not allegations of betraying my country," Umesh said on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast 'Unplugged'.
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Suicidal thoughts
"It also came in the news that he wanted to do something drastic that night [end his life]. It was around 4 AM in the morning when I got up to drink water. I was on my way to the kitchen when I saw that he was standing on the balcony. It was the 19th floor we were living in. I understood what happened. That night of Shami's career, I feel, was the longest.
"Later, one day, when we were talking, he got a message on his phone saying he got a clean chit from the committee that was investigating the matter. He was probably happier that day than he would have been if he had won a World Cup," added Kumar, who is also member of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.
Bouncing back from adversities
Shami fought the case in court and won but lost his daughter's custody to Jahan. But the Bengal cricketer didn't let anything affect his game and became one of the most lethal pacers in the Indian bowling unit along with Jasprit Bumrah.
Shami is currently out of action after undergoing surgery to repair his Achilles tendon. The 33-year-old is targeting a return to international cricket in Test series against Bangladesh in September.
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