Known for his ice-cool demeanour and composure, former Indian Cricket Team Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that he too feels pressure and fear. Dhoni offered his view on mental health, lending support to MFORE - an initiative to achieve peak performances in sports by offering various mind conditioning programs. 

In a press release issued by MFORE MSD said, "In India, I feel there is still a big issue of accepting that there is some weakness when it comes to the mental aspects, but we generally term it as mental illness". At an event organised before the country went into nationwide lockdown due to Coronavirus pandemic, Dhoni expressed his views while interacting with coaches from various sports. The 2011 World Cup Winning Captain asked, "Nobody really says that, when I go to bat, the first 5 to 10 deliveries my heart rate is elevated, I feel the pressure, I feel a bit scared because that’s how everybody feels – how to cope with that?" Captain Cool further added, "This is a small problem but a lot of times we hesitate to say it to a coach and that’s why the relationship between a player and coach is very important to be it any sport."

Dhoni highlighted the importance of mental conditioning coach and also urged the coach to not come only for 15 days or so, as then it'd just be like sharing an experience rather than maintain the good mental health of the players. The three-time IPL Champion said, "If the mental conditioning coach is constantly with the player, he can understand what are the areas which are affecting his sport." 

Current Indian skipper, Virat Kohli urged the importance of mental clarity in life, "I think mental health and mental clarity is the most important factor in life; not just in sports" he stated. 

A show will be launched on May 10 by Star Sports 1 Tamil, where Dhoni, Kohli, R Ashwin along with others will voice out their views on mental health and why mind conditioning in sports is crucial.

Batsman S Badrinath and Saravana Kumar are the founders of MFORE.