In what was a heart-warming gesture, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly named John Wright as his favourite coach and someone who he considered more of a friend to him while Wright was the head coach of the Indian team.
Under the able guidance of Wright, Ganguly would lead India to newer heights in international cricket, a run that included India’s runners-up finish at the 2003 ICC World Cup. Ganguly was seen making this statement in a video released by the official Twitter account of the 2019 ICC World Cup. “My first oversees coach, and my favourite coach so far,” said Ganguly while talking about Wright.
“I met him for the first time in Kent, when Rahul (Dravid) came in and said he’s our coach. I said, ‘I’d love to work with him’. We have a great relationship, actually we’re genuine friends.
"He was more of a friend than a coach to me"
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 13, 2019
Former India skipper @SGanguly99 relives the glory days with his "favourite coach" John Wright. pic.twitter.com/uGATBe5Zwh
“We had a great World Cup and he was responsible because there were some strong-headed players in that side. As we grew together, we got better friend and he was more of a friend than a coach, he understood me and I understood him.”
The video, shot on the sidelines of the washed-out game between India and New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Thursday, also sees the two talk about their time with the Indian team, and reminiscence some great moments from the past.
Wright, who was India’s first foreign coach for five years from 2000-05, said, “I always thought it was the greatest privilege to have the opportunity to work in India. I never expected it. It was a hard start, for both of us. You were a new captain and I was the foreign coach. You remember the good times but it was also tough times,” he added.
Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Aamir Qureshi
