Paddy Upton’s First Class batting average is 71. He scored a hundred on debut, but only played one more game after that. He held his own on the rugby field too, but, at the ripe old age of 25, retired from both sports and became a coach.
As the mental conditioning coach, he played a significant role in India winning the 2011 World Cup and achieving the No. 1 Test ranking in 2009. When his own country, South Africa, became World No. 1 in all three formats, he was the team’s performance director.
His most recent coaching assignment has been with Rajasthan Royals. This is his second stint as the head coach at Jaipur; in his first, he guided the team out of the basement and into the IPL Playoffs. In 2016, he coached Sydney Thunder to the Big Bash title. Upton has an academic bent of mind, too; he has two Masters degrees.
A few days ago, his book The Barefoot Coach hit the stands. In a chat with The Hindu on a sweltering summer afternoon in Jaipur recently, he spoke about the favourites for the World Cup, the evolution of Virat Kohli, the importance of M.S. Dhoni, and what made the 2011 Indian team special. Excerpts:
The World Cup is around the corner. Helping India win it in 2011 must have been one of the happiest moments in your coaching career.
Without doubt, it stands right at the top. We had planned our long way to get to that final long before the tournament began. We had started making the active plans 10 months before. The Asia Cup final at Dambulla in June 2010 … we got clarity. From then on, we had the World Cup in mind during every single meeting, every practice session. It was a very deliberate, detailed plan.
What was your role exactly?
I wore multiple hats. The key role was working on the mental side of the game, both individually and as the team. I gave inputs to create a culture which we believed was important to performance.
Culture is created by the leadership. I worked with head coach Gary Kirsten and the players to get the best out of the seniors and the juniors. There is a tendency in India for junior players to be in the shadow of senior players and be afraid of making mistakes rather than expressing themselves freely. My work was to bring out the freedom of expression from all 15 players.
What made that Indian team so good?
The balance in that side was amazing. You had 11 players on any given day to give critical contributions to take the team across the line. It wasn’t reliant on any particular individual. The team was distributed well.
You had the incredibly destructive Virender Sehwag opening with Gautam Gambhir. You then had Sachin Tendulkar coming in, and Kohli was coming into his own. You also had Dhoni at the height of his career. For a team to win, you probably need four players to fire on any given day. Any one of the 11 could have been those four players.
In fact, the World Cup final was the one where Dhoni made a real contribution. He hadn’t needed to earlier because of the others. When his time came, he did. He is the man for the big moments.
How is Dhoni different from other captains?
He has calmness, composure, clarity and he influences other players. They are able to feel calm and composed themselves. The knowledge that Dhoni would come to the crease after them makes the batsmen feel easier. He manages the high-pressure moments well. He has an intuitive feeling for the game.
How do you view Kohli’s evolution from a young cricketer to the world’s best batsman and a successful captain?
He has learnt to understand what he needs to do when he walks out to bat in any format of the game. He finds the tempo, which he retains throughout the entire innings.
Dhoni takes a lot longer, sometimes he falls behind, but takes over at the last minute. Kohli is slow poison. If he needs seven an over, he doesn’t fall below that, he doesn’t go way beyond, either. He doesn’t give you an opportunity. At the end of the game, often quite unspectacularly, he is still there. In terms of understanding how to strategise an innings entirely, he is clearly one of the best, if not the best.
A year ago, Kohli and Steve Smith were ahead of anybody else.
You made Smith the Royals captain midway through this IPL…
He is a natural captain, somebody who likes to lead and get involved in the game. In the first few games, because of his elbow, he wasn’t able to field the way he wanted to; he didn’t have the captaincy, he wasn’t as involved as he wanted to be. His game was all around batting. The captaincy gave him much more involvement. He likes to be busy. His more natural position is to be influencing the game from different angles.
What makes the IPL special?
It has all the world’s best cricketers at the same time, none of the other leagues do. The fanatical following of cricket in India is unsurpassed by the rest of the world. The amount of local talent is great. So is the atmosphere. It is one of the greatest sports shows in the world.
What are your thoughts on Jofra Archer, Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag, who have done well for the Royals?
Jofra’s execution has been incredible. He would be one of the best T20 bowlers comfortably. I have always rated Sanju very highly. I think he hits the ball as well as anyone in the game. To translate the ability and skills to the high-pressure situation of an IPL game is the real test, but Riyan has passed that test with the opportunities he has been given.
Who are your favourites for the World Cup?
England. They are the No. 1 team and are playing at home. They have got a really balanced team with a lot of experience and some seriously good batsmen.
India have been playing some great cricket over the last few years and have got a really good 50-overs team. They are riding on confidence. Someone like Kohli and Dhoni are match-winners in any situation.
Then there is Australia, while the fourth team could be one of the wild cards — Pakistan, South Africa or New Zealand.
Why did you retire as a player so young?
I was offered an opportunity to become the world’s first fitness trainer in international cricket. Bob Woolmer was the coach and Hansie Cronje the captain. For me, it was a smart career move. I don’t think I would have wanted to be a professional athlete.
Tell us about your new book.
It is about my experience of working with some of the best athletes in the world for 15 years. I wanted to share it with other coaches, athletes and business managers.
