‘IPL a cash cow, break will lead to anxiety and insecurity for few players’: Paddy Upton

With the situation surrounding the deadly COVID-19 continuing to deteriorate with each passing day, the fate of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 hands in the balance. The dreaded virus has left the entire sporting calendar in pieces with almost all the major tournaments and events getting cancelled or postponed. While IPL 2020, which was earlier set to start from March 29, was postponed till April 15 amid the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, there has been no official confirmation whether the cash-rich tournament will even take place this season or not.

The former Mental Conditioning and Strategic Leadership Coach of the Indian cricket team, Paddy Upton is of the view that the athletes are bound to witness a range of experiences during the ongoing lockdown. Upton said while it will be a welcome break for some of the players, many will feel a sense of anxiety and insecurity, both professionally and financially.

“For athletes, there would be a range of experiences, from welcome relief for the established to anxiety and insecurity, both professionally and financially, for possibly a greater number,” Upton told a leading daily.

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“Fringe players and those at the early stages of their career, especially those who have very recently broken through to the next level, would naturally be feeling this break very disruptive,” he further added.

Upton termed IPL as a cash cow while adding that anxiety and depression arise within normal people when they tend to focus too much on themselves and the problems they are having. He further advised them to focus on other people and care for them while looking for opportunities that are available during this unprecedented scenario.

"IPL a cash cow"

“Naturally IPL is a huge highlight on the calendar for many cricketers, and a cash cow. Anxiety and depression arise within healthy and normal people, when they spend too much time focusing firstly on themselves, and secondly on the problems that they are having. I would really caution not only athletes but everyone, to use their awareness to guard against this very normal threat. The way to overcome it is to focus on other people, caring for them, and at the same time to look for opportunities that are available due to this additional time,” he said.

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“What’s important is to ensure we maintain a bigger perspective of our lives, specifically taking care of all the facets that make up who we are as humans, which include looking after the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspect of our lives,” Upton added.

Meanwhile, as per reports, the BCCI is looking for an alternate window during August-September while evaluating the options to conduct IPL 2020 later in the year.