John Wright

Calcutta: John Wright’s interview with the Kolkata Knight Riders’ panel is on Sunday, but the former New Zealand captain and India coach may not travel to Mumbai if he isn’t absolutely clear about what’s expected of him.

Or, rather, just how much time he’ll be required to give the IPL franchise.

According to a source in New Zealand Cricket (NZC), it’s unlikely that Wright will be able to devote a total of around six months in a year, as is being talked about.

“From what I understand, Wright won’t have a problem putting in three-four months, or even a little more, but anything in the region of six months or thereabouts would probably be too much,” the source told The Telegraph on Thursday.

He added: “I expect Wright to seek clarifications before he boards a flight for Mumbai... He won’t go there unless he’s convinced he can do justice to the job, whatever be the designation.”

Wright is currently employed by NZC and is the Elite Coaches Manager. Apparently, NZC wouldn’t have a problem if Wright’s involvement is limited to “some months.”

Duncan Fletcher, who has coached England and captained Zimbabwe, would stand to gain if Wright decides against presenting himself before the Knights’ principal owner, Shah Rukh Khan, and the others on the panel.

Perhaps even Richard Pybus, an ex-Pakistan coach.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is very much in the frame (as reported in these columns on Tuesday), but time may be a factor for him as well. Should that be so, he could only come on board as a consultant.

In any case, given the frosty state of Indo-Pak relations, nobody is quite sure whether (among other things) it would be politically correct to involve Akram.

The franchise, it seems, is still undecided on the structure of its coaching staff.

“Look, there’s enough time before the next edition of the IPL and we don’t need to rush into anything... The availability of the best personnel may dictate the coaching set-up,” is what somebody associated with the Knights said.

After two poor seasons, the second worse than the inaugural one (2008), the franchise needs to make an impact in edition No.3. In some ways, it’s a matter of survival.

Meanwhile, it’s learnt that Team India fielding coach Robin Singh, whose name too had been doing the rounds, isn’t in the running. Praveen Amre, though, is.