Coach must understand that players win the matches: John Wright

The Kumble era will never be remembered for the results the former leg-spinner got during his year-long stint. His old school methods were not liked by a section of Indian players, including skipper Virat Kohli. Despite the media reporting a rift between Kohli and Kumble, the former India skipper was given a month extension but he stepped down just days before India’s tour of the West Indies.

The Cricket Advisory Committee is scheduled to screen the applicants on Sunday in Mumbai. According to sources, Ravi Shastri is the frontrunner to replace Kumble, though Virender Sehwag and Tom Moody have strong profiles as well. It will be interesting to see how they fare in the interviews. The selected candidate will be responsible to coach the national team until the end of the 2019 World Cup.

India’s first foreign coach

At the turn of the century, a new era had dawned upon Indian cricket. The BCCI appointed a foreign coach for the first time in their history. John Wright was the selected candidate, who got a 5-year contract from the Indian Board. He worked fervently with the team and under him, India started winning overseas. Reaching the World Cup finals in 2003 was arguably his best achievement closely followed by a Test win in England, Australia and West Indies.

John never had any issues with any member of the side. He developed a good partnership with Sourav Ganguly, who was then the captain of the side. In his opinion, a coach should take a back seat and understand Indian culture.

“A coach needs to understand that players win the matches. A coach needs to create an atmosphere where ideas are exchanged freely. He should be aware of the pool of players around him – their strength, weakness and should be able to engage them in a talk. Players, especially in a place like India, come from various places and have a varied background and a coach should bridge the gap between them, creating a team,” John Wright was quoted by OneIndia when he was asked about how to deal with the Indian team.

BCCI likely to pick an Indian coach

Post the Kiwi legend’s tenure, India had three more foreign coaches: Greg Chappell, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher. After Fletcher’s stint, the BCCI opted to hire Indian coaches. Going by the trend, it is highly likely that the Board will yet again pick an Indian to coach the side.