The Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals (RR) has selected Paddy Upton as their new head coach for the upcoming IPL season (IPL 2019).
Earlier, the South African played the head coach role of this IPL franchise for four years. During his tenure, Royals had the best season in 2013 when they reached to the playoffs in IPL 2013 (finished at the third position) and also finished as the runners-up in 2013 Champions League T20. Under his term, Royals won 13 straight home matches at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
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In the IPL history, Upton was also the head coach of Pune Warriors India (2012) and Delhi Daredevils (2016-2017).
Talking about Upton’s return to the head coach role for Rajasthan Royals, the Head of Cricket Zubin Bharucha said, “The experience and knowledge that he brings to the table is unparalleled. As coach, mentor and scientific trainer, Paddy Upton is well versed with the rigours of modern day sport. We are thrilled to have him back in our team and can’t wait to put on our pads and get going in the new season.”
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Upton was the mental conditioning coach of Indian cricket team during the nation’s victory in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup under MS Dhoni’s captaincy and Gary Kirsten’s head coaching. During Upton’s term in India, the nation achieved the no.1 position in the ICC Test ranking. Upton was also the Performance Director of South Africa cricket team from 2011 to 2014.
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The Lead Owner of Rajasthan Royals, Manoj Badale said, “It gives us immense pleasure to announce Paddy joining the team. We welcome him back to the Royals Family. Paddy is someone who is well versed with the culture of Rajasthan Royals and he knows what it takes to achieve success in international sport at the highest level. We cannot wait for the season to begin and are so pleased that the BCCI have confirmed it will be held entirely in India.”
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Upton will now return to Rajasthan Royals where Amol Muzumdar (batting coach), Steffan Jones (fast bowling coach), Sairaj Bahutule (spin bowling coach) etc are in his coaching team.
