Dhoni's freedom will be good for the team, says John Wright

Dhoni's freedom will be good for the team, says John Wright

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John Wright feels that now that MS Dhoni is relieved of the burden of captaincy, he can bat more freely and that would be great for the Indian Team. Wright also said that Kohli has some huge shoes to fill in but has the right kind of people around to support him in the enviable task.

Former coach of the Indian Cricket Team, John Wright talked to DNA about the how the change in captaincy will impact MS Dhoni and his successor Virat Kohli. Wright was the coach when MS Dhoni made his international debut. Now that Dhoni is relieved of his additional duties of a captain, he can express himself more freely and enjoy his batting more. And everyone knows that an in-form Dhoni, the batsman, can do a world of good for the Indian Cricket Team.

Wright, who coached the Indian team from 2000 to 2005, said, "My early experience with MS was at a camp and he was always a very good listener. His first innings I can recall was he got 148 in Vizag (vs Pakistan, ODI). He made someone like (Virender) Sehwag look rather pedestrian, which took a lot of doing. He had great game awareness, awareness of his leadership abilities and not only his cricketing abilities. He is still enjoying his cricket. He can enjoy it now more as he has got the freedom to express himself. It will be very good for the team."

Talking about the new Indian captain Virat Kohli, Wright said that he loves his emphasis on fitness, and that along with Anil Kumble, he has the right kind of people around the team.

"Hope he will leave a little better when he finishes than when he found it. The structure is really good, right from the selection, through to Rahul Dravid and Paras Mhambrey in the U-19 team. He is fortunate to have Rahul to interact within 'A' team and, of course, Anil Kumble. It is a very strong structure and hopefully, people understand and value it to keep that quality going. It will only be very good for Indian cricket."

The greatest problem that the sport of cricket faces these days is teams performing badly away from home. Wright also echoed the sentiments of any Indian cricket fan saying that he feels the lack of a considerable number of overseas victories is something that has had him worried. 

"Your attack has some depth in pace bowling, which is important. You've got spinners, though they have found it difficult overseas. Batting has not changed. I don't think it has changed even before I arrived. You only have to look at some of the great efforts of someone like Sunil Gavaskar. He batted so brilliantly against the West Indies home and away. And Kapil Dev. Those sort of guys. Wherever they have played, they have succeeded."

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