Yes, he's in the public eye as a New Zealand cricketer whose personal story has been told in women's magazines, the implicit boundary between being granted privacy or seeking the status of celebrity.
Yet it must be hard to break introverted habits, especially when the spotlight intensifies ahead of a World Cup at home.
The opening batsman has struggled for form and been lambasted for his crease crisis 14 days out. Solutions are everywhere from talkback radio to social media to the water cooler. Jesse Ryder lobbyists will soon be on the rampage.
Guptill's unfortunate circumstances contrast with several teammates being close to the form of their lives; but he deserves his place.
He has produced several of the best innings by a New Zealand ODI batsman, notably in 2013 when he became the first from this country to score an ODI century at Lord's and, two days later, the highest scorer with 189 not out at Southampton.
A week prior he'd shuffled about awkwardly in a test at Headingley, so the current scenario has a precedent.
If coach Mike Hesson and captain Brendon McCullum back their 'form is temporary, class is permanent' policy, Guptill will survive, at least until the early group stages of the Cup. His fielding alone saves a stack of runs and places batsmen on the heels rather than the balls of their feet.
The alternative opener, Tom Latham, has not made a compelling case for a swap and besides, Guptill's pedigree deserves loyalty. A desperate option would be to bring in another opener like Dean Brownlie or Anton Devcich from the 30-man squad named last month if anyone suffers a tournament-ending injury.
It was reassuring to hear Hesson reiterate his faith when the topic was raised at yesterday's media conference.
Hesson spoke of not wanting to create a "headmaster's office" culture for anyone with brittle form. He said it was sometimes difficult, as any cricketer knows, to translate practice in the nets into the pressure of a game. Hesson would not be drawn on a deadline by which Guptill's drought had to break.
As with Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford in tests, Guptill is being given every opportunity to get his game right. He's worked on his batting with master technician Martin Crowe but appears to freeze in the middle, judging by his average of 19.81 from 12 ODI innings this season.
The issue appears more mental than technical. In contrast, Guptill has the third highest Ford Trophy average of 69.50, including two centuries, from four matches over the Christmas holidays. A change in form seems imminent.
- By Andrew Alderson of the New Zealand Herald
