As the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 draws near, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is contemplating to send a psychologist accompanying the team to India in order to help them handle the pressure in the mega event.
PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf's meeting with team captain Babar Azam will determine the final decision on this matter. Babar Azam is presently participating in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) and representing Colombo Strikers.
A PCB official noted, “Zaka is a big believer that having a psychologist with the players will help them, especially when they are not performing well or feeling external pressures of a tour to India."
The official emphasised the significance of a psychologist's presence for the Pakistan team, as this is their first trip to India since 2016.
The official recalled, “When Zaka Ashraf was Chairman (of PCB) he had got a well-known psychologist Maqbool Babri to work with the players and he also went with them to India in 2012/13.”
The official mentioned that Pakistani players had prior interactions with a sports psychologist before they travelled to India for the 2011 ODI World Cup.
Notably, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Ahmedabad will host Pakistan's World Cup 2023 matches.
Earlier, Pakistan had made it clear that they would not take part in the forthcoming ODI World Cup 2023 unless they were granted hosting rights for the Asia Cup. Despite resolving the Asia Cup imbroglio, Pakistan's position concerning the major tournament in India remains unconfirmed. In the next steps, PCB plans to dispatch a security team to India to assess the circumstances before the board give its verdict.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
ENG vs AUS: After major outcry, Dukes owner promises to personally investigate controversial ball change in 5th Ashes Test
Yuzvendra Chahal opens up on continuous snub from playing XI, says ‘cricket is not an individual game like chess’
