Paddy Upton, the newly-appointed mental conditioning coach of Team India, has expressed his delight over joining the national men’s team again and termed the development as “privilege of being back in the saddle”.
Notably on Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced that Upton has joined India’s support staff on the tour of West Indies as the mental conditioning coach and is expected to be with the team till the Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November.
This will be Upton’s second stint with the Indian team after previously working with the side from 2008 to 2011 under then head coach Gary Kirsten.
“News update, from the Caribbean. People normally start these announcements with ‘I’m really excited to…’, but I genuinely AM excited to have joined the Indian cricket team, as mental conditioning coach. I’ll be supporting the players and coaches in preparation for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, in Oct/Nov ’22,” Upton wrote on his official Instagram account.
“My relationship with Indian cricket started 14 years ago when I worked alongside Gary Kirsten, who was appointed head coach of the Indian team at the time. One World Cup win, a world No. 1 Test position, eight IPL coaching stints and three IPL playoffs later, I’m happy to have the privilege of being back in the saddle with the Indian team. And this time, I feel particularly fortunate to be supporting current Head Coach Rahul Dravid, who I’ve worked with in a number of different teams and roles over the past 14 years. Let the games begin,” he added.
Interestingly, both Upton and head coach Rahul Dravid have worked together at Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), serving as mentor and coach respectively.
As per reports, Upton’s appointment has been done on the recommendation of head coach Rahul Dravid.
Upton has also served as Performance Director of the South Africa team and later as head coach on the T20 circuit with stints at Sydney Thunder (BBL) and Lahore Qalandars (PSL) besides his role in the IPL.
Most recently, he served as the ‘Team Catalyst’ at Rajasthan Royals, who reached their first IPL final since the 2008 season.
The Indian team has a five-match T20I assignment agaisnt hosts West Indies before they play a short ODI series in Zimbabwe, the Asia Cup in August before subsequent white-ball assignments at home against Australia and South Africa.