Mitchell Johnson opens up about depression after retirement from cricket

Former Australia’s star pacer Mitchell Johnson has revealed that he has been struggling with depression since retiring from professional cricket.

The former left-armer retired from all forms of the game in May 2018 after claiming more than 700 wickets in international fixtures and T20 leagues all over the world.

Johnson, while talking to Channel 7 as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, revealed that he has been struggling with depression after retiring from cricket more than two years ago.

"I've found it tougher since retiring from cricket," said Johnson. "All of a sudden, you're not doing as much. You sort of lose your purpose a little bit. I struggle with, probably, confidence at times. I'm in that transition now where I've been out of playing cricket for about two years. It [cricket] sort of blocked things out in a way.”

He added: “It sort of hid the depression, but there was a lot of times where you would go back to your room, you're away from family and you start to dwell on things. Through my cricket career, I actually just dealt with it [depression]. It's just about me now actually moving forward and taking it upon myself to be active with certain things, to keep my mind going."

Johnson, who was an integral part of Australia’s 2015 ICC World Cup triumph, finished his international career with 590 wickets to his name across all formats.