Bangladesh cricket team needs sports psychologists
BANGLADESH cricket team is consistently underperforming these days not because they have suddenly forgotten how to play cricket at the highest level, but because the whole team has lost confidence in their abilities. The remedy lies beyond the expertise of their cricket coaches. The team urgently needs the assistance of sports psychologists to fortify their beliefs in themselves.
Sports psychologists help professional and amateur athletes overcome mental impediments to their sports success. Many top athletes have credited sports psychologists for enhancing their performance and helping them achieve their goals. Entourage of elite athletes like tennis superstar Serena Williams always includes sports psychologists.
Any top athlete knows that sports is not only physical; a lot of it is also mental. Muhammad Ali, “The Greatest,” used to win boxing contests before the opening bell by psyching out his opponents with taunts. Before his title fight against then World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston in 1964, Ali acted crazy and made Liston believe that he was really crazy! No one likes to fight a crazy guy! Of course Ali won the heavyweight title.
After South Africa won their away series against Australia 1-0 in Australia in 2012, Shane Warne made an astute observation. He said that unlike some other nations, South Africa was not afraid to beat Australia. One of the instances Warne was alluding to was the 2006 Fatullah test when Bangladesh had an excellent opportunity to beat Australia, but lost its nerve and the match.
While a team's sports coaches concentrate on embellishing the physical and technical aspects of the players' talents, the sports psychologists focus on what goes on inside the athlete's head. The athlete may become too anxious and lose focus during critical times. He may have trouble communicating with his teammates, controlling his temper (something some Bangladeshi cricketers are unable to do) or to motivate himself. Worse of all, he may “choke” at critical moments of the game, when confidence deserts and nerves take hold of him.
Sports psychologists can help athletes enhance their performances by teaching them mental strategies such as visualization or mental rehearsals (something golfing great Tiger Woods employs), self-talk (to get pumped up) and relaxation techniques. These help athletes' sooth their nerves, overcome mental obstacles to their performance and achieve their full potential.
Athletes are under enormous pressure to succeed from parents, coaches, their own expectations, and most importantly, from the high expectation of fans. Sports psychologists can teach them how to mitigate these pressure-cookers of expectations so that these do not negatively affect their performance.
Sports and injuries go hand in hand. The best players are rarely injured. Muhammad Ali was injury-free all his life. The decline of Tiger Woods is directly related to the injuries he sustained over the last six years. Neymar's vertebrae injury put an end to Brazil's World Cup aspirations last month.
Sports psychologists help athletes recover from injuries, teach them how to tolerate and play with pain, adhere to strict physical therapy regimens, and keep the morale up and remain a part of the team mentally when sidelined. Sports psychologists teach athletes how to enjoy their sport, look forward to practicing and develop self-esteem and self-confidence. Cricket is a team sport. Players win or lose as a team. Actions of every player matters because it impacts all other team members. If the team's best player is regularly facing disciplinary problems and getting suspended, it has a demoralizing effect on the rest of the team.
A successful team also needs a strong leader who leads by example. There is no substitute for strong character. Sports legends such as Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens and Sir Don Bradman were men of impeccable character. On the other hand, Tiger Woods's decline can also be traced partly to his philandering in 2009. Some suggestions for the coaches and sports governing bodies are also in order: cut your superstars some slack and consult them before making important team decisions. Management always consulted Wayne Gretzky, ice hockey's “The Great One,” and basketball legend Michael Jordan, before making any changes in the roster. No one is perfect. Management should not just punish a player; they should help him overcome his flaws. After all, we are dealing with young and impressionable men.
Even their opponents admit that Bangladesh cricket team is loaded with talented players. All they need to do to excel consistently is to execute the techniques they have mastered, be patient and fearless like a real Tiger, keep succeeding even when everyone around is failing, and most important of all, keep on believing in themselves. And they need sports psychologists to constantly remind them how good they are.
The writer is a Rhodes Scholar.
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