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While performances on the field can never be guaranteed, there are certainly a lot of factors other than skill and practice which help athletes perform to their optimum level in high-pressure situations. To ensure that the players can focus only on the game and are best prepared to perform well, top-level athletes such as those part of India's squad for a World Cup tournament, are accompanied by specialised support staff.
Among members of this staff is Paddy Upton. Notably, this is Upton's second stint with the Indian cricket team and he was earlier part of the coaching staff led by Gary Kirsten who went on to oversee MS Dhoni-led India going on to win the ODI World Cup in 2011. It is in Upton's book "The Barefoot coach" in which the 53-year-old claims that sex before a match can positively impact players' performance.
He even admits that he had advised the members of the Indian team to have sex before their matches. However, not all seem to agree with his point of view. Dr Sanjay Deshpande, Chairman of the Council of Sex Education & Parenthood, for instance has said that there are no elaborate studies to find a cause-and-effect relationship between sexual intercourse on sports performance and the result could go both ways.
"It is subjective and players should be advised appropriately," Dr Deshpande was quoted as per an article in bdcrictime.com.
Later, Upton even admitted to his "sex before match" talk to being one of the biggest mistakes of his professional career.
Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team is currently in Australia competing at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022. India have not won an ICC trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy and a T20 World Cup since 2007 and would hope to end their drought by clinching this tournament.
