Wright favoured Ganguly's sacking

In his book, Indian Summers, he peels off veneers presenting an unflattering picture of cricket brass in the country.

Much before Sourav Ganguly undid himself after a bitter public spat with coach Greg Chappell, the Aussie's predecessor John Wright, towards his last days at the helm, favoured the sacking of the Bengal southpaw as Team India captain.

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In his tell-all book, 'Indian Summers', former Team India coach peels off veneers presenting a not-so-flattering picture of cricket administration in the country.

"As much as I respect Sourav Ganguly and acknowledge his record as captain and his contribution to Indian cricket, I believe there were sound arguments for a change in leadership towards the end of my stint," Wright writes in his book.

"There might well have been times when he favoured a change in a coach. What really mattered was the two of us saw the bigger picture, worked as a partnership to provide leadership on and off the field and got results. In that last season, though, the results dried up," he says.

Revealing how Sunil Gavaskar was appointed without his knowledge as the batting consultant during the India Australia series in 2004-2005, Wright said it was done on the behest of Ganguly.

Wright also expresses his frustration with the selection policy prevalent during his stint as coach.

"The first six or seven selections were straightforward. But when it got down to the marginal selections, those last three or four spots that determine the balance of the team and your ability to develop new players, the zonal factor kicked in and things would get interesting."

"It was easy to tell when selectors had come to a meeting with an agenda, i.e. to try their damnedest to get one or two players from their zones into the team. If their boys weren't picked, they tended to cross their arms, clam up and take no further part in the meeting," he says.

According to him, VVS Laxman and Mohammad Kaif were the ones who were at the receiving end at of the selectors' whims.