Abstract
This research was conducted to examine knowledge and awareness of
cricketers about psychological skills and their perception of significance
of psychological skills in cricket. For this purpose, a qualitative study
was carried out on the sample of eleven cricketers (n = 5 Under 19 years
of age International cricketers, n = 6 cricketers of Pakistan International
Cricket Team). Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were
conducted with Pakistan U19 Cricket Team and Pakistan International
Cricket Team. Information rich cases were selected in order to get indepth information pertaining to issues of central importance. Focus group
discussion and interviews mainly focused on two main questions i.e. what
did they know about psychological skills; what is their perception about
the role of psychological skills in cricket? Data gathered through focus
group and individual interviews was transcribed and subjected to
thematic analysis. Main themes emerged were: that change in nature of
cricket over the period of time had warranted the need for psychological
skills; Psychological skills mainly comprised of several components i.e.
sense of cohesiveness; psychological control; psychological preparation;
freshness of mind; adherence to instruction of coaches for mental
strengths. Psychological skills were perceived to be important for
cricketers to enable them deal with pressure effectively and help them
develop positive mind set. Findings of the present study have important
implications for cricketers, for Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and
National Cricket Academy (NCA) to help develop psychological skills in
players and also to pay attention to cricketers’ psychological health along
with physical fitness. Cricket academy may design training programs for
developing psychological skills in players which in turn would help
improve their performance.
Vicar Solomon, Rukhsana Kausar. (2017) Perception of Psychological Skills in Pakistani Cricketers: An Exploratory Study, Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 27, Issue 1.
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