Paddy Upton set to join Pune Warriors

The Pune Warriors side is likely to rope in former mental conditioning coach of the Indian team Paddy Upton in their support staff for the fifth edition of Indian Premier League in April-May.

Upton was a key member of Team India's support staff during the victorious World Cup campaign last year.

The 43-year-old's role as Kirsten's deputy during the three-year stint with the national team had been applauded by one and all. He left alongwith Kirsten after the World Cup campaign and joined the South African national team as their mental conditioning coach.

"With Sourav Ganguly in as the mentor-cum-player, the team required someone who would work on the mental and physical aspect of the players. Paddy had a wonderful stint with the national team and his inclusion would only benefit the franchise," an IPL official said.

It has been learnt that former India captain Ganguly, who was a late entrant in the side in place of an injured Ashish Nehra last year, will take active part in making strategies and looking after the technical aspects.

The Sahara Group-owned team finished a poor ninth among 10 teams in their debut season last year. They had Geoff Marsh as the chief coach while Englishman Dermot Reeve and Praveen Amre were the two assistant coaches.

Marsh left the side to become coach of Sri Lankan team while Reeve wasn't given an extension.