New KKR coach likely to be announced in a week

Mumbai:

Kolkata Knight Riders is set to conclude its hunt for a new coach on Sunday with the last set of candidates appearing before the team management here.

Former India and Kenya national coach Sandeep Patil and current Mumbai Ranji coach Praveen Amre were interviewed by the KKR management at team owner Shah Rukh Khan's residence in Bandra.

Another ex-India coach John Wright and former ace Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram were also scheduled to present their credentials to the team management before the end of the day.

Seven other candidates, including foreigners Richard Pybus, a former Pakistan team coach, Dermot Reeve, ex-England coach Duncan Fletcher and former Australian batsman Michael Bevan, were interviewed earlier this month for the high-profile job.

Ex-India coach and Test opener Lalchand Rajput and former batsmen Ashok Malhotra and Woorkeri Raman, currently coaching Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy, had also been interviewed, making it a total of eleven people vying for the post.

The post has been lying vacant following the sacking of former Australia team coach John Buchanan after the team's dismal display in the first two editions of the Indian Premier League in India and South Africa.

One of the candidates to be interviewed said the team management wanted to know his vision.

But he said they did not tell him how long they needed him to devote his time in a year on the job.

The KKR franchise management has declared its intentions to wind up the proceedings and announce the new coach by the end of this month.

Probably they may take a week or so to finalise the issue, one of the candidates said on Sunday.