Mumbai Indians appoint John Wright as head coach

Former New Zealand batsman John Wright has been appointed Mumbai Indians' head coach ahead of the sixth season of the Indian Premier League, while Robin Singh will continue to provide his services to the team.

The news came days after Anil Kumble was named the chief mentor of Mumbai Indians, and a week before the IPL auction, scheduled for February 3 in Chennai.

Nita Ambani, the owner of the Mumbai Indians franchise, said she was pleased to have a coach like Wright associated with the team. "It's a great pleasure to have John on board with Mumbai Indians. John is immensely respected and I am sure his cricketing knowledge and experience will be of enormous help."

Wright was the coach of the New Zealand team from 2010 to 2012. Under him, the team reached the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup but a year later, he decided not to renew his contract with the team, citing differences with New Zealand's director of cricket, John Buchanan.

Prior to that, he was the coach of the Indian team from 2000 to 2005. During this tenure, India won a Test series against Australia at home in 2001, drew a Test series in Australia in 2003-04, reached the 2003 World Cup final, and won a Test and ODI series in Pakistan in 2004.

Wright played 82 Tests and 149 ODIs for New Zealand before he retired in 1993.