Wright was ideal India coach, he gave players free-hand unlike Chappell, Kumble: Sandeep Patil
Mumbai, Nov 7: The 1983 World Cup winner and ex-chairman of selectors, Sandeep Patil feels John Wright's approach of giving a free-hand to players led to his successful coaching stint with India, something his more authoritarian successors Greg Chappell and Anil Kumble failed to emulate.
In his autobiography -- Beyond Boundaries -- launched here on Wednesday, Patil gave deep insights in his book about the reason behind Wright's success as India coach vis a vis Chappell and Kumble.
Patil was privy to several developments of the tumultuous Chappell era as he used to attend selection and board meetings in his capacity as the then India A coach.
"Since 2000, India have had an array of international coaches and support staff. This has paid rich dividends, because India's overseas record has improved steadily. It all started with John Wright becoming India's first foreign coach.
"I think John was the ideal coach for India. He was soft spoken, polite, well-mannered, always kept to himself, and was happy to be in Sourav Ganguly's shadow.
"In addition to all that, he kept a distance from the Press. He managed that so well, that he was hardly in the news — unlike what happened in the Greg Chappell years," Patil wrote in his book.
"With Chappell, he was in the news every day. It is very important for a coach to first understand the policy of that particular board, the thinking of the board members, and the President. He should have a good rapport with the President and the Secretary, and of course the captain and the team. John did that wonderfully."
Patil observed that every player was equal and the team came first for Wright.
"...during his tenure, there was no 'seniors' and juniors' business. It was one team. He believed all seniors were leaders in some way, He gave them respect, and a free hand, which l feel Anil Kumble didn't do. Greg Chappell too," he wrote.
The former India coach felt that Chappell's aggressive approach did not suit the Indian dressing room atmosphere.
"Greg is a very strong personality; very aggressive. The moment Jagmohan Dalmiya said you have a free hand, he thought that he can change everything overnight. John waited, and learnt the system. Greg wanted to change the entire system, the entire thinking, and the selection process," Patil elaborated.
"He introduced flexibility in the Indian team, and he spoiled things for Rahul Dravid, who took over from Ganguly as captain. Irfan (Pathan) was asked to move up the order. Seniors don't like to change numbers, whether it is Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, or Virender Sehwag.
"The other issue in the Greg Chappell saga was the presence of Ian Fraser as Assistant Coach. Most players didn't like his presence."
Patil said Chappell was in a hurry to introduce the Australian culture in the Indian system.
"Greg wanted to introduce the Australian culture, the Australian way of playing cricket, and the Australian way of thinking. He could've done it, but he didn't bide his time. That's where I think the rift started, and he was against a few seniors who were not toeing the line.
"Sourav is not a guy who will get up and start running and doing stretches. You need to give him time. I think Greg rubbed seniors the wrong way, though a few seniors didn't speak openly about him - some like Kumble still haven't. It's the same with Dravid. Ironically, Ganguly got him in, but was instrumental in his exit," he wrote.
Patil felt Gary Kirsten turned out to be the most successful Indian coach because of his closeness with the players.
"Gary Kirsten was very successful - you could say most successful, because his squad won the 2011 World Cup. Gary, again, was well-respected and soft-spoken. He had played against the same players and got runs. This counts, in a way.
"Having played in India, he knew what to expect. He also stayed away from the Press, and gave all his 24 hours to the team," he wrote.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
