Bangladeshi players to consult psychologist

DHAKA: Following the disappointing performance of the team in the 2014 World T20, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided to hire psychologist for the players, ARY News reported.

Bangladesh's senior players will have three sessions with a psychological skill development coach later this month.

Bangladesh's recent poor form had prompted this move. They had won only two T20s and drawn a Test match against Sri Lanka since January, during one of their busiest and most high-profile seasons. Defeats to Afghanistan in the Asia Cup and Hong Kong in the World T20 were the low points.

The BCB has associated Bangladeshi-born Canadian Ali Khan as a psychological skill development coach with the team to remove the mental stress of the players.

Speaking about the move, BCB chief Nazmul Hassan has said that yesterday he gave the approval for a psychologist.

“Our team did well but just after losing to Afghanistan, their morale broke down. The same thing happened after losing to Hong Kong. Previously, we used to fight even after losing”, Nazmul Hassan added.

The BCB is also looking to hire short-term specialist coaches for all age groups to rectify specific problems in batting and spin bowling.

"We are looking for spin and batting coaches," Hassan said. 

"We want to keep the head coach and the rest of the coaching staff, but at the same time we want to hire top ex-players to do some specialist camps for all ages, kids and seniors. These are in addition to the regular coaching system."