John Wright

John Wright earned more accolades during his stint as India coach than during his playing days and this is a compliment considering his laudable career as a batsman for New Zealand. While he had all the strokes in the book, it was his mental toughness and fighting qualities that helped him succeed at the highest level. A left-handed batsman, Wright possessed a balanced technique that had hardly any flaws at all. This helped him succeed not only at home but also in the challenging conditions abroad, especially in the sub-continent against the spinners. He had 12 Test centuries to show and the Kiwis lost only once when he crossed the three-figure mark, a testimony to the value he added to the side. Of course, his defensive methods weren't threatening for the opposition too but were mighty effective, especially on tough pitches where run scoring was difficult.

Wright formed an extremely successful opening partnership with Bruce Edgar for New Zealand, the duo often reliable in getting the team off to solid starts. Wright was the first Kiwi batsman to go past 5000 Test runs and even held a unique feat of being only the second player to score eight runs off a single delivery - having ran four and being gifted four overthrows as well. He wasn't shy of adapting to the trends and his change in stance in the latter part of his career was testimony to it. Apart from success for New Zealand, both internationally and domestically, he also spent a good time in the County circuit, churning out runs for fun. After his retirement, Wright initially spent time in sales, albeit without much success and eventually, took up coaching. His work ethics and mentoring skills were brilliant, as evident from his stay with Kent though his biggest success story was yet to come at that time.

In 2000, Wright got appointed as India's coach and it was a turbulent phase in Indian cricket with the match-fixing saga prevailing and consequently, a greenhorn captain in Sourav Ganguly taking up the leadership. The next few years were redemption for Team India with Ganguly striking a fantastic rapport with Wright, the duo's contrasting methods giving the perfect leadership balance to the team. The coaching success with India gave a new dimension to the Kiwi's career and he continued to be involved with the country, courtesy the Indian Premier League that started in 2008. Wright got involved with the Mumbai Indians franchise and has played a vital part in scouting talents - a skill that he was always good at even during his playing days. He had a great eye for talent and knew how to tap it from players.