PORT OF SPAIN – Former West Indies team manager Omar Khan has called on authorities to hire a full-time sports psychologist.
Khan said during his stint, he had doubled his duties to deal with the mental aspects of the game but stressed it was time to have a professional.
“Every professional sports team in the world has one attached to it,” Khan noted.
“The [West?Indies Cricket Board] just have to take a look at the Indian Premier League (IPL) and they will notice that every one of the nine teams has a psychologist attached to it.
“Cricket these days has so many dimensions that you need to have a sports psychologist attached to the team right through. We have so much natural talent in cricket but the board has to understand that this alone cannot win matches in these times.”
Psychologist Dr Rudi Webster has been utilized in the past and accredited with the turnaround in team performances.
The Barbadian was drafted in for the West Indies home series against India in the Caribbean last year but has not been used since.
Khan said, however, it was vital the WICB responds to the demands of the contemporary game.
“The world is moving ahead with specialists for specialist positions and yet we cannot seem to understand that we need to take heed of what is happening around us,” Khan argued.
“The psychologist will go a long way in helping the players get the best out of their talent and when you marry that talent with mental toughness, you would get excellent players, leading to excellent results.” (CMC)
