Wright confirms Kolkata's interest

John Wright, a current New Zealand selector and former India coach, has confirmed he is in the running for the coach's position at the Kolkata Knight Riders. The IPL franchise recently sacked John Buchanan after two poor seasons.

"Yes, they have been talking to me," Wright told the Hindu while in Chennai with the New Zealand A side. "Let's see how it goes. One day I would love to come back to India."

Duncan Fletcher and Richard Pybus are also in the fray along with other candidates, and are expected to meet the franchise management at owner Shahrukh Khan's house in Mumbai next weekend.

Wright, a former New Zealand batsman, had a successful five-year stint as India's coach during which India won a historic series against Australia in 2001 at home, won in Pakistan in 2003, and also reached the final of the 2003 World Cup.

If Kolkata appoint Wright, he will be working with Ganguly, who was the national captain during his five-year stint as India coach, for at least a year. Ganguly will be playing his third season at Kolkata and at 37 it is unclear whether he will extend his contract. It has been reported that Wright's relationship with Ganguly turned a bit rocky towards the end those five years but Wright has always insisted he respected and appreciated Ganguly. He said the two still kept in touch.

"We had our differences and had different opinions, Wright said. "These were strong opinions too. But at the end of the day, we trusted each other. He was good with the young boys and gave the side aggression. We shared a common goal. I was very impressed in the manner he staged a comeback and went out on his own terms. Ganguly showed he was a fighter.

Sourav and myself are strong individuals and we had great times being in the same boat," he was quoted as saying by PTI. "He did his things his way. I would challenge him. Sometimes, we did not know why to agree."