In the past decade or so, cricket is turning more professional and with that, psycho-scientific, efforts are undertaken to make the players’ mental and behavioral set-up sounder. In the past, Team India was seen taking help of mental coach like Paddy Upton and also gaining from it (it was during his stint in India that the Men in Blue won their second World Cup title in 2011). Now, after the recent controversy in which all-rounder Hardik Pandya and batsman KL Rahul, the authorities are considering introducing behavioral counseling programme for the Indian team.

Pandya and Rahul have faced an indefinite suspension since their appearance on a show of ‘Koffee With Karan’ where they, especially Hardik, was found to be talking things that were not perceived to be in good taste. The controversy led to such an outrage that both the cricketers were sent back home packing mid-way from the Australia series.

It was worse for Pandya as the flamboyant all-rounder was just about to make a return after an injury break. The suspension seems to have put the career of both players in jeopardy, even if temporary. Their fate will be decided by an ombudsman which is yet to be appointed by the Supreme Court.

ALSO READ: Rahul Dravid Feels Hardik-Rahul Controversy Is Over-hyped

Some of the recent reports of TOI suggested, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has now been considering starting a behavioral counseling programme for the Indian team in the wake of the controversy and it will also include national teams of all age groups and the ‘A’ squads.

Talking about the same, a senior BCCI official said, “The Indian senior team as well as the Emerging, A teams and U-19s will have behavioral counseling session at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). The course will deal with every aspect of a professional sportsperson’s life. There will also be sessions on gender sensitivity.”

The official also said that the two alleged cricketers will not have separate sessions that will be for the entire team. However, the course could be more beneficial for U19 cricketers who get a lot of focus at a young age, thanks to tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL) that make heroes overnight.

ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya Spotted For The First Time After The Controversy

Speaking about it, a former Indian cricketer said, “Players like 17-year-olds Prabh Simran Singh (₹4.8 crore for KXIP) or Prayas Ray Burman (₹1.6 crore for RCB) have become overnight millionaires even before playing a single Ranji match. There should be life coaches, who would counsel them.”