India cleared to approach Wright

Kent have agreed to India's request to interview John Wright for their vacant coach's position. The former New Zealand opener, whose contract as coach with Kent is to expire soon, has been short-listed for the job alongside the former Australian Test captain Greg Chappell.

Kent have agreed to India's request to interview John Wright for their vacant coach's position. The former New Zealand opener, whose contract as coach with Kent is to expire soon, has been short-listed for the job alongside the former Australian Test captain Greg Chappell.

Wright, who was suggested to the Indian Cricket Board by another Australian legend, Bobby Simpson, scored more than 5,000 runs at Test level. He will meet with the Indian Cricket Board of Control at the weekend about the possibility of succeeding Kapil Dev.

"Only Greg Chappell and John Wright will meet us," said ICBC secretary Jaywant Lele. "I think we do need the services of a foreign coach because there are lots of things we can learn. If we look at teams like Australia and South Africa, they seem to work hard on planning strategies."

"In the past we have tried many Indian coaches like Madan Lal, Kapil Dev, Sandeep Patil and Anshuman Gaekwad and we thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to look for a foreigner," Lele said.

Kapil resigned last month after becoming involved in a match-fixing scandal. He has denied all charges.