Indian players who made their debut under John Wright: Where are they now?
Former New Zealand player John Wright took charge of the Indian cricket team in November 2000; months after the match-fixing scandal hit the shores of Indian cricket. Sourav Ganguly was made the captain of the team that year and had a relatively inexperienced side to lead. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and a few others, the rest were new faces in the international arena.
As the days progressed, the team formed a shape which started to produce results. The India-Australia Test match at the Eden Gardens in 2001 was a turning point in Indian cricket. The John Wright-Sourav Ganguly duo seemed to be the perfect blend for the steep rise in performance of the team.
It is not an easy task to build a stable playing XI, a lot of permutations and combinations are required to attain the perfect combination. In the course of Wright’s tenure, many players were tried out to showcase their talent, some impressed and played for a longer period, others’ stint were short-lived.
Let us have a look at the players who made their debut under John Wright and where are they now:
#1 Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra’s International career was short-lived but the batsman chipped in with effective opening stands with Virender Sehwag during India’s tour to Australia in 2003. The right-hander’s batting technique and ability to play at the top of the order promised much in the future, but it faded away when he was only 10 Tests old.
Having played the majority of his domestic cricket for Delhi, he joined Rajasthan as a guest player in Ranji plate division. He helped Rajasthan win the Ranji trophy, which was the first time a plate division team won the coveted tournament.
Chopra also played in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. After his retirement from the game, he appears as a guest columnist for CricInfo and Hindustan Times and is currently involved in various cricket television shows.