IND vs WI: It's Great Move To Bring In Paddy Upton - Rohit Sharma

The recently appointed mental fitness coach Paddy Upton, according to India’s captain Rohit Sharma, can help the squad.

After winning the 2011 World Cup, head coach Rahul Dravid recommended the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bring in the South African once more to help the squad get ready for the forthcoming T20 World Cup. 

Rohit Sharma Feels Paddy Upton Can Make A Huge Difference In This Team

“I think it was a great move to bring him in. We are very excited to have him in the squad. I genuinely feel that he can make a difference in this team,” Rohit said on the eve of the five-match T20I series against West Indies. 

The captain continued by saying that the squad will undoubtedly benefit from Paddy Upton’s expertise working with other teams on the mental side of the game and his familiarity with a number of current India players. 

“He has got so much experience working with different teams at different places. His inclusion in the squad will definitely help all of us,” Rohit said ahead of the series opener in Trinidad.  

“He will definitely bring the mental side of the game, which is very, very important, into the picture. 

“He has worked with the Indian team before, he was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning Indian team, and he has also had success with a lot of franchise teams. He knows a lot of our players as well, he has worked with them closely before. 

“It is only his second or third day with the team now so he is probably just observing the guys he hasn’t worked with earlier and I am sure he will start his work and get the players’ thoughts as well.” 

Mental Side Of The Game Has Always Been Important: Paddy Upton

Upton had a strong connection with many players, including Dravid, during his first spell with the Indian squad between 2008 and 2011, when he served in the combined capacities of mental fitness coach and strategic leadership coach. Later, the two collaborated as Indian Premier League coaches. 

“The mental side of the game has always been important, that hasn’t changed. I think what might have changed is the fact that we have come through and out of the Covid experience.

A lot of the players have been on the road a lot of the time and so there is an extra element to manage to try and get individual players and the team as a whole into the best possible space,” Paddy Upton told bcci.tv after joining the team in the Caribbean. 

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