I had been reading about Mike Brearly recently. For the ignorant souls, he was an English cricket captain and was in the team only because of his captaincy. His batting average was a mere 24 and he never scored a century at the international level. Even then, he never lost a single test as a captain.
Apparently, he knew how to get the best out of his players and could always tell whether someone needed a kind word or a kick in the ass. On further reading, I found out that he, in fact, did have a degree in psychology. It is clear that his man management skills were reason enough for the selectors to pick him, despite his record. The man always attributed his success to his education.
While reading all that, an idea struck. Why not teach players, specially the ones projected as future captains, basics of psychology. I don't mean a rigorous, degree-seeking program but I'm sure a Psychology101 can't do any harm.
Think about it. A player like Brearly, who hardly ever could lead by example, engineered such a turnaround in Botham's form halfway in to a series which is now known as Botham's Ashes. If he could be that successful, I'm sure it can lift a Dhoni's or aPonting's performance by a few notches.
As I write, I no realise it might be a better idea to leave the players alone and coach a coach. That way you need not ruin a natural like Sehwag and at the same time, could save a Shaun Tait from a mental fatigue so early in his career.
This can of course be applied to other sports too.
Narcicist Narmad
Bhalla: Abe jaldi roll kar
PD: Main slow hun yaar
No comments:
Post a Comment