‘I hope to go to Bangla’

Today, for all his friendly interaction, Wright said nothing to rule out talk of his quitting.

Not even when asked a direct question. ‘‘There have been a lot of rumours as far as my role is concerned. The longer you stay, the more often you hear such rumours’’, Wright replied, his smile growing wider. The question was put differently, referring to his staying on as coach. ‘‘After four years as coach, I feel that it is very important for a team to be moving forward. I want to see the team constantly improving.’’

Wright recalled that he came back from Pakistan tour thinking that he would take the team forward but got held up somewhere over the last three or four months. ‘‘If at any point of time I feel that I am not achieving anything for the team, then someone else can come over and take my place’’, he added.

So does that translate to him quitting, since the team has not gone forward? ‘‘I hope to be going to Bangladesh,’’ came Wright’s ambiguous reply. ‘‘I have had chats with Mr Dalmiya about my stay and other stuff. But you’re aware of the situation with the BCCI, so we’ll just talk it out.’’

Leipus’s position is clearer. He has expressed a desire to quit after the Bangladesh series. ‘‘Leipus staying on at the moment looks difficult’’, said a senior BCCI official today. ‘‘We will look for a foreigner only to replace him (Leipus). Maybe someone like John Gloster (the former Bangladesh physio). Leipus has a few personal reasons. But with Wright nothing is quite clear yet,’’ said a senior BCCI official.

The Bangladesh tour starts from December 7.