Bhajji advised to see a shrink

By BIPIN DANI

Mumbai, May 15: Harbhajan Singh, who has been banned for five ODIs for slapping S. Sreesanth needs to see a psychologist. The suggestion comes from two different mental experts,-Sandy Gordon and Dr. Rudi Webster, both of whom worked separately with Team India in the past.

Says Gordon: "While neither is likely to have psychological problems I believe both would benefit from understanding how emotional intelligence can be applied. Each player, however, first has to want to learn and that means acknowledge their own shortcomings i.e. inability to cope with the emotional demands of competitive cricket.

"Banning Singh from playing cricket is punishment and he’ll say sorry to everyone, but what has he really learned? Both he and Sreesanth are wonderful players who play with great emotion, but who is really interested in helping them channel those emotions in helpful ways?"

"Decent cricket fans who expect more from their idols are left wondering," Gordon adds.

"Harbhajan must now learn to control his thinking and emotions and to keep his concentration focused and locked into the task at hand, particularly when he is under pressure," says Dr Webster.

"All the great players do that well and they use their own techniques to handle the enormous pressures of the game. I am sure that there are many professionals in India who can help Harbhajan in the those areas."

"Harbijan is now in the latter part of his career and must decide how good a bowler he wants to become and how he wants to be remembered as a player.To move to the next level of development he must do a thorough and honest self-examination, identify the pressure situations that cause him problems and learn how to handle those situations by improving and controlling his thinking and concentration."

"Patience and cunning are two of the greatest assets of good spin bowlers. Uncontrolled or misdirected anger is their biggest enemy," Dr. Webster feels.

"There are many talented sportsmen like Harbhajan who fail to take that last step to excellence and mastery of their game. He must now heal some of his negative attitudes and give himself the best chance possible to become a good role model and the great slow bowler he is capable of becoming. I wish him the best of luck."