India at Asia CUP 2022: Virat Kohli Depression: BCCI re-hiring Paddy Upton two months before T20 World Cup raised a few eyebrows. But it was Rohit Sharma who advocated it in line with prioritising the team’s mental health. As it turned out, Team India’s biggest superstar Virat Kohli was going through his struggle with mental health. With a lack of runs and constant criticism, he was cornered. But now with Upton present, things are changing. Upton is spending time with Kohli every day and the results are slowly coming up. Follow Asia Cup 2022 LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Now, Paddy Upton’s biggest task is to get Virat Kohli back to his best form, mentally. As per sources close to Team India, Upton has already planned 4 sessions with Virat Kohli. Each session is of 45 minutes.
During these 45 minutes, it is not about teaching how Kohli should bat. Instead, Upton is working on Kohli’s mental side. The team’s video analyst has made a special video of Virat Kohli’s best knocks. Upton shows the montage to Kohli in every session to rejig his memory and reignite the star that has clouds of doubt.
India at Asia CUP 2022: Mental training coach Paddy Upton taking special classes for Virat Kohli in Dubai: CHECK OUT
But for a person like Kohli, it is about setting small targets as the former Indian captain has said in multiple interviews. He likes to set smaller targets during every match, every practice session, every gym session and for his career. Hence, Paddy Upton is also giving him new goals in every session, every match and for the year.
Before Asia Cup 2022, Kohli had set his target: Win the Asia Cup at any cost. But to get there, Kohli needs to fire with his willow and Upton his helping him achieve that goal.
“My main goal is to help India win the Asia Cup and the World Cup and I am ready to do whatever it takes for the team,” Virat Kohli told Star Sports in an interview.
India at Asia CUP 2022: Mental training coach Paddy Upton taking special classes for Virat Kohli in Dubai: CHECK OUT
India at Asia CUP 2022: How is Paddy Upton recharging Virat Kohli again?
- Paddy Upton has planned 4 special sessions with Virat Kohli.
- Each session will last for 45 minutes but it won’t discuss about batting techniques or wrong shot selections.
- In each session, it will be about working on Kohli’s mental side of things.
- Being the superstar he is, Kohli tried to push all the criticism under the carpet and thought with working harder, he could regain his lost form. But it did not happen.
- Kohli admitted not touching the bat for a month. He lost the love for it.
- But Upton is helping him find the lost love.
- Team Video analyst has made a SPECIAL VIDEO of Kohli’s best knocks.
- Upton shows him during every session to rejig his memory.
- Paddy Upton is also giving him new GOALS as Kohli is a goal-oriented individual.
India at Asia CUP 2022: Mental training coach Paddy Upton taking special classes for Virat Kohli in Dubai: CHECK OUT
The South African coach may be associated with cricket teams but more than helping players grow skills-wise, Upton has worked towards their mental wellbeing. India 2011 World Cup triumph is not just a result of Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh or MS Dhoni heroics. Rather, all of them are indebted to Paddy Upton, whose name was first recommended by Gary Kirsten.
.@PaddyUpton1 is back with #TeamIndia as mental conditioning coach. 👍 👍
Here’s what he had to say about his role with the team & his bond with Head Coach Rahul Dravid as he begins his stint with the team. 👌 👌 – By @28anand
Watch 🎥 🔽 #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/IYU8pCEKQj
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 27, 2022
It was Upton’s work and relationship with players that saw him get another stint at Team India. But this time, he is working closely with cricket’s No 1 star Virat Kohli. The former Indian captain has struggled with mental health issues the same way many did. But as eyes were fixed on him, he did not realise the dark side he was going into. Kohli even said he “faked his intensity.”
What did Kohli say about mental health struggles?
“It was happening naturally. I had to push for it and I didn’t know it. I became this ideal kind of sportsperson to look up to. I get so grateful of the fact that so many people get inspired by me but you can’t stop being a human being because of that. I’m not shy to admit that I was feeling mentally down. This is a very normal thing to feel and I’m a human at the end of the day. That should be a thing or a space for people to say if he can experience this, relax it’s normal to feel this way. It’s not abnormal, talk about it and discuss with people. No one will think you are weak and you will get help from people you never imagined,” Virat Kohli said on an interview with Star Sports.
India at Asia CUP 2022: Mental training coach Paddy Upton taking special classes for Virat Kohli in Dubai: CHECK OUT
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