India's opener Virender Sehwag on Monday said mental toughness is a key area for batsmen and having the services of Paddy Upton is a great help.
Upton has been appointed as the Indian team's physical and mental conditioning and strategic leadership coach. He was specially recommended by new coach Gary Kirsten to help out the Indian team after he helped quite a few South African players like Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince to get over their weaknesses.
"Over a period of time if you have been playing cricket for 8-9 years, sometimes you tend to forget small, small things and the moment someone reminds you of the things that you were doing in the past and what you are doing now. We can talk about the small things. Everyone knows that if you are going to play a Test match, how you are going to get your runs. Pressure, dedication and motivation are the kind of things that are discussed," Sehwag said of his interaction with Upton in Chennai on Monday.
The South African team are worried that Upton could leak out a few secrets to the Indian camp, but Sehwag is not worried and believes that Upton will not share the interaction with others.
"I was discussing mental toughness issues with Paddy Upton. It was quite a good discussion and hopefully a few positives will come out of the discussion. I think whatever you discuss with Paddy is confidential. Nobody knows what I say to Paddy and he's not going to talk to anyone. So that inspires confidence," he said.
"When I met Paddy for the first time, he told me that whatever you guys are discussing with me is confidential. So I am trusting him. If he makes a mistake, I'll give him one more chance and after that I won't talk to him. So you can build relationships with trust, so right now I am trusting him," he added.
Sehwag revealed how discussing mental issues with a psychologist helps players deal with issues like poor form and other such problems.
"Rudi Webster in West Indies was also a big help. Paddy Upton is with the team so hopefully we will get a lot of help. Few people can answer the questions thrown up by the batsmen about mental toughness, so we can get 4-5 ideas from someone like him. The session was pretty satisfactory," he said.
The Delhi opener further elaborated that new coach Gary Kirsten has already had a positive influence on the team's preparations.
"Not too many changes after Gary has taken over. Only man-management and facilities are better after Kirsten took over the reins. There is no time wasted in practices -- everyone does what they are supposed to do. We have been having briefings for two days. There is point-to-point talk in the meetings. We had not expected him to be so well prepared," he said.
The right-hander said the switching over to slow wickets in India after the three-month long tour of Australia would not be a problem. He believes the wicket for the first Test at Chennai is not much different from the ones they encountered in Australia.
"Not too much difference between the Chennai wicket and the ones in Australia. The bounce is almost the same, only the pace is a little less.
But we are used to it as we've been playing in such conditions since childhood," the 29-year-old said.
Sehwag said he will take a lot of confidence from his blazing knock of 151 against Australia in Adelaide in January. It was Sehwag's enterprising innings on the final day that helped India escape with a draw.
"I have a lot of confidence. My last innings in a Test was a 150 so I know what I am doing. I will look to survive the first hour and then dominate in the next," he said.
The Delhi opener said his strategy in Australia was to play out the first few overs before taking the attack to the bowlers, which ultimately proved successful.
"The mental and technical aspect were both tough. I was not in a good mindset. So I kept telling myself that I have done it in the past and I can do it in the present too. For me, I was trying to dominate from the first ball, which is why I was struggling. In Australia, I was biding my time and looking to take on the bowler after 15-16 overs," he said.
Sehwag said the hot and humid conditions in Chennai will be really tough one to negotiate for both the teams, but especially the visitors.
"I think they have done well in the past because they got conditions that really suited them. There was swing and pace in South Africa and they exploited that. But they won't get similar conditions here. We are not worried about the bowlers, we are worried about how we will manage the heat," he said.
