No wrong in being hungry for success: Gambhir tells Upton

New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) In his just released book The Barefoot Coach, Rajasthan Royals head coach Paddy Upton has written in length about mental conditioning of sportsmen and also pointed at how form

Gambhir went on to further explain that as a sportsman, it is important that one strives to succeed and reach greater heights with every performance. 

"That is what a performing art like sport is all about. You want to strive for higher achievements. I think the late Sir Don Bradman would have liked to finish with an average of 100 plus, Sachin Tendulkar would have liked to win at least one more World Cup etc. I am certain my dear friend Paddy won't have termed these desires as "negative" or "weak". To aspire to excel is the very basis of playing the sport for me and thank Heavens it never changed for me," he explained.

In his book, Upton wrote: "I did some of my best and least effective mental conditioning work with Gambhir, the International Test Cricketer of the Year in 2009. I worked with him up until that time, but I had little to do with him being named the world's best cricketer.

"Often, when I got onto the Indian team bus, Gautam would invite me to sit next to him. What followed was predictable: 'Paddy, man, I know I just scored 100, but I should have got 200. I mishit too many balls, I struggled in the beginning, I hit the fielder too many times ... It just wasn't good enough. I need to sort things out.' He would be in mental agony about losing his wicket and about needing to fix things. He was so riddled with insecurities, doubts and vulnerabilities. He was one of the most negative people I have ever worked with."

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Baidurjo Bhose