The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is putting greater emphasis on the mental side of cricket players, and it appears as though the recruitment of psychologist Alan Brown is a part of this process. The Tigers are scheduled to play a one-off test against Afghanistan in the near future.
Yesterday in Mirpur, the home of cricket, Bangladesh’s head coach Chandika Hathurusingha was spotted working alongside Brown, who specialized in utilizing the particular qualities of a player within a team context. Brown was seen working alongside Hathurusingha. Even before Brown’s arrival in the nation on Saturday, he had already begun training with the cricket players from Bangladesh.
“As part of his studies, he (Brown) has collaborated with the world-famous Gallup Strength training program, which was launched in 1930. “Mainly, he works on the aspect of how to utilize the individual quality of a player to a team environment,” Shahriar Nafees, the manager of cricket operations for the BCB, said Wednesday in an interview with the media.
In the meanwhile, the board is working on a strategy to bring on another sports psychologist, Phil Jauncey, who was previously employed by the Tigers in the year 2014.
“Doctor Phill Jauncey, who is a traditional psychologist and has collaborated with our organization in the past, will visit Bangladesh in the month of August. He will concentrate on the players’ individual performance as a whole. Our intention is to offer assistance of this kind all throughout the year, at any time it may be necessary.
“Normally, we don’t require the support of a psychologist all the time as it takes some time for the players to practise on a specific mental aspect and after working on it, they will follow the process from time to time,” Nafees added. “As a result of this, we don’t need the assistance of a psychologist all the time.”
When the former Bangladesh opener was asked about his response when he was asked whether the involvement of multiple sets of psychologists may generate any friction in terms of working together, he said, “Fitness is important in sports.”
While both the fitness trainer and the physiotherapist aim to improve the players’ overall fitness, each focuses on a somewhat different set of skills. As a result, there is no possibility of their coming into conflict with one another, and I believe there will be coordination.”
Nafees, on the other hand, was reticent to comment on whether or not the BCB intends to hire a permanent psychologist before the forthcoming One-Day International World Cup in India, which is scheduled to take place in October of this year.