John Wright's relations with Sourav Ganguly might have got strained towards the end of his stint as the Indian team's coach but it was not all love lost between the two.
The former New Zealand captain has talked about his special "bond" with the tempestuous former Indian captain in a report that appeared in 'New Zealand Herald' on Sunday.
"He (Ganguly) was a special man," Wright was quoted as saying.
"He wore his heart on his sleeve and there was an arrogance that used to get up people's noses.
"But I think that was good for us, it was good to have that feistiness as the country learned it was becoming such a powerhouse in world cricket," said the former Kiwi batsman, currently in the eye of a storm over disclosures in his book 'Indian Summers'.
"I tested him (Ganguly) and he tested me but there was an inner trust between us. He would often do things which were the opposite of what we had talked about, which always kept me on my toes, but there was a bond that grew, despite how different we were. And we were always a really happy side," he said.
The New Zealander says it took about a year for him to convince the team that running between the wickets and fielding were quite important in one-dayers. It was difficult, however, to point out technical problems to some of the world's best batsmen.
"I didn't coach Sachin Tendulkar, I gave him gentle advice when he asked for it," he said.
Wright described his job as the "loneliest in the world" but said he gradually developed a liking to it.
"It was probably the biggest adventure I will ever have in my life. I miss that thrill of getting on that team bus and going to a big game, with the crowds clapping you all the way to the ground...," he said.
Wright said probably the craze for the game in the country made his job so exciting.
"In many ways, that's what made the job so exciting. I actually didn't have a contract for about 40 per cent of the time but it didn't really matter because they were honourable people. I got paid every three months so that was the length of time I'd allow myself to look ahead.
"It was satisfying that I lasted so long, I certainly didn't expect to walk away on my own terms, but I proved I could survive and proved that a foreigner could do the job."
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