Just when the fate of Indian coach John Wright seemed sealed, captain Sourav Ganguly and star batsman Sachin Tendulkar have added a new twist to the tale with a surprising public show of faith in the coach.

In typical fashion, Ganguly was forthright and bold. "There is no question of changing John Wright. He has been a very good coach," he told Indian TV network Zee News. Tendulkar echoed those sentiments when he said: "He is a good coach. He is trying hard on us (the team). Success does not come overnight."

The Indian captain endorsed Wright's value as coach to his team and added "everyone" should realise how much he is contributing to the team. His "everyone" is a not-so-well-concealed googly at the one man whose dictat counts: BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya.

Dalmiya, who has his mind set on removing Wright, had said that Wright's future hinged on Ganguly's words. But with his latest public pronouncement on Wright, Ganguly has not only distanced himself from the BCCI's political callisthenics - Mohinder Amarnath, the man widely tipped to take over from Wright, was seen at both the Mohali and Ahmedabad Tests - but has also made it clear that Wright's sacking would not meet with his approval.

Ganguly has made a cross-court return to Dalmiya here. But how much clout does he really enjoy, now that his own place as captain and player is in jeopardy?

If Ganguly is echoing his team's sentiments, and he probably is, then they could do their bit pre-empt Wright's sacking. Victory at Bangalore could make things that much more difficult for the machinations of the BCCI mandarins. It's an acid test for the team.

H Natarajan is senior editor of Wisden.com India.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd