India’s crisis champs and their process

Just a day after India won the ODI World Cup in 2011, I interviewed Paddy Upton, the team’s mental conditioning coach, and asked him who were the men for a crisis in the squad; the players who would raise their game in the face of adversity.

- Ashish Magotra

MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli during an ODI against New Zealand in Ranchi in 2016.

(HT ARCHIVE)

His answer stayed with me and now feels even more relevant because one of the names he mentioned is now the head coach of the Indian team.

“Gautam Gambhir seems to know how to give his absolute best when the stakes are highest,” Upton had then said. “Whether it is batting all day in New Zealand, or with an injured arm in South Africa or the innings in the World Cup final, when the pressure is on, he will not back off. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is another one who seems to cruise when the team is doing well but if he feels that the team really needs him, then there’s no holding back. VVS Laxman is another such individual. They are the men for a crisis. The challenge for us is to keep them interested when it gets boring.”

Gambhir is often caricatured on social media for his unbridled intensity but in the lead-up to the final match of the Super 8s against the West Indies at Kolkata, so much of the talk is about pressure. This setting should be right up his alley.