After the Sydney rout, what India needs is a shrink

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent – Eleanor Roosevelt “We were down in the first session on the first day,” said Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the post-match conference after India collapsed to yet another humiliating defeat against Australia. It is interesting to dissect the comments of the Indian captain because, more than anything else, it gives us a peek into Dhoni’s mental state. He was obviously feeling inferior at the end of Day 1 itself. Yes, India was in trouble but how did India and Dhoni respond? They responded by setting defensive fields; by looking to contain; by looking to keep the damage to a minimum. When what they should have been looking for was to give as good as they got. If you are bowled out for 191… how will you respond? Will you go on the defensive or will you go all out and try to get wickets, especially if you have managed to reduce the opposition to 37 for 3? The answer is crystal clear to most of us. Indeed, it’s logical. But India’s response showed that in their heads, they’ve already lost this series. Steve Waugh once said that mental toughness is about never giving in to yourself, never taking the easy option; and he was right. India, time and again, have taken the easy option on this tour and they have paid the price. Mental toughness is probably one of the most used but least understood terms by the global cricket community. It is also, arguably, one of the most important psychological attributes in achieving excellence in not just cricket but in any sport, any field of endeavour. When your mind is right, you can push it to the limits… and even beyond. The defeat at Sydney makes you wonder whether India is missing Paddy Upton more than Gary Kirsten? The former was the mental conditioning coach for India during the Kirsten years and his main objective was to talk to players, to get them to feel good about themselves and their game. For whatever reason, it worked. And for whatever reason, even the stint that Sandy Gordon had with the Indian team in 2004 before the Brisbane Test, worked. In fact, it led to one of India’s best showings in Australia ever. Motivation means having an ongoing objective or intention in mind and Gordon obviously knew how to put things in perspective for the Indian team. [caption id=“attachment_174386” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Are the Indians suffering from the we-know-it-all syndrome? Do the seniors believe that they know more than the coaches? AFP”]  [/caption] In fact, Gordon had submitted a report to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2004 on the topic of mental toughness among Indian cricketers. The report, among other things, suggested that while the bulk of the cricketers were very committed and mentally tough, failure and risk-taking must not be frowned upon. Intolerance to mistakes means that Indian cricketers never have the opportunity to learn or to try again. There are certain attitudes that sabotage commitment and they are widely defined thus: impatience with improvement, rationalisations (excuses), fear of trying and not succeeding, distracted by others (friends, parties, experts), integrating everything into their system, over-training, and the know-it-all syndrome. Among the most dangerous of these attitudes is the ‘know-it-all’ syndrome. If players ‘know it all,’ then others, even experts, can’t help them get better. The ‘know-it-all’ player is not coachable. Have the Indians fallen into this trap? Are the coaches mere accessories? Do the seniors believe that they know more than the coaches? They certainly believe they know more than the trainers and the physios, but has the arrogance extended itself to coaches too? If so, then the Indian team needs professional help. Not Fletcher in the guise of a psychologist but someone like Gordon – he’s worked with the team before and he works in the University of Western Australia. A quick phone call could probably do the trick and it needs to be done now because we need to salvage what we can from this tour. A slump in form is a reality that affects everyone. But there are two incontrovertible facts about slumps: They happen and they pass. To make them pass though, you need to give it your best shot and win the battle in your mind first. On twitter, just after Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed at 80, Sanjay Manjrekar (@SANJAYMANJREKAR) tweeted: Clear now, that after 50 runs, Tendulkar battles the demons in his head more than the bowlers on the field. He probably hit the nail bang on the head. Saying a problem doesn’t exist, won’t make it go away. Working on it with a plan in mind will probably do the job better. The famous basketball coach John Wooden used to say, “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” For now, though, India have already failed. They need to find the way back to paradise; they need somebody to hold up the light, they need somebody to give them hope. They need someone to help them where it counts: in the head.