Team India needs a psychologist to overcome this period: Pravin Amre

Pravin Amre

Former Indian batsman Pravin Amre, who is credited with reviving the career of Robin Uthappa and fine tuning Ajinkya Rahane by working on their batting technique, has said that Indian cricket team needs a psychologist to come out of this troubling period. MS Dhoni’s men looked like they have turned a corner after their historic win at the Lord’s in the second of the 5-match Test series against England, only to lose the next two quite miserably and show no improvement in the fifth and final match, which is underway at The Oval.

Batting first in the ongoing Test, the visitors were shot down for 148, with Dhoni scoring 82 of those runs; no other batsman crossed the 20-run mark, with the likes of Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Cheteshwar Pujara looking totally out of sorts against the moving delivery.

Not just the technical issue

Amre, reacting to India’s performances, said: “If there was a problem with our players' technique alone then we wouldn't have won the Lord's Test. This tour is a good example of why we need to avail the services of a sports psychologist. On a long tour like this it is not just one thing that leads you to success. It is a combination of many factors, like fitness, form, skills, team bonding and mental approach.

The 46-year-old, who has represented the country in 11 Tests and 37 ODIs, added: “When you talk to psychologists, they will tell you that thousands of thoughts can pass through a person's mind in one minute and 80 % of those could be negative ones. With such a mindset, it becomes very difficult to go out and perform. That is why it becomes all the more important to train your mind. That is where a psychologist can help.”

Kaif disagrees

However, former Indian batsman Mohammed Kaif believes that it can’t be generalised and can vary from person to person. He said, “It didn't really work for me (interacting with Gordon), but it did help someone like Rahul Dravid. If the players feel the need to spruce up mentally, I think they should get someone on board who is aware of the Indian culture and the players' mindset. For me, Sachin Tendulkar is an ideal man as he knew exactly how to deal with pressure. He would never read newspapers and would only focus on his batting and we know what the results were.”