Shut out the noise, raise player awareness: The Upton mantra

India's mental conditioning coach during their victorious 2011 World Cup campaign talks about the pressure of playing the upcoming tournament at home

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

MUMBAI: Playing cricket for India brings the highest level of pressure. The noise on the ground can be deafening, unlike anywhere else in the world. And if it is a Word Cup at home, everything multiplies.

Paddy Upton knows it all. As a mental conditioning expert, his biggest achievement was to help India's 2011 batch beat the odds and live up to the expectations of a billion plus people by winning the World Cup at home.

Dealing with the pressure is the key to playing a big-ticket event at home. Even if the players want to keep it normal, fans, friends, family and media will keep reminding them about the importance of performing well.

India will have to deal with it in October-November in the ICC World Cup. As a member of the 2011 squad, Virat Kohli knows all about it. For the rest, it will be some test of nerves and to stay focused on the job at hand, the importance of a mental strength expert can't be overlooked.

A big factor in India's successful 2011 campaign was Upton's role as mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach. He was with India from 2008-2011 as part of coach Gary Kirsten's think tank. For the World Cup, his job was to prepare the players for the kind of pressure none of them would have faced.