Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir defended an out-of-sorts Yusuf Pathan, stating it's not only about him but the form of the whole team that is a concern ahead of the Indian Premier League match against Delhi Daredevils, here on Wednesday, says a report in Indian Express.
"I don't think his performance is frustrating," Gambhir replied when asked to comment about the all-rounder who has scored only 108 runs in nine games.
"KKR is not only about Yusuf Pathan and my concern is the form of the whole team. In a long tournament like the IPL, you will find that there will be some players who would hit form during the initial phases while there will be some, who make a comeback during the last phase. It's a matter of one over or a wicket. Myself and the entire team management has a lot of faith and trust in him (Yusuf)," said Gambhir , says the report.
The pitch at the Shahid Veer Narayan International Stadium here has a decent carry but the skipper didn't let his guard down when asked about Brett Lee's possible inclusion.
"Let me tell you that the best XI will be playing for KKR and if Brett Lee fits in that XI, he will play," was another typical Gambhir answer, says a report in The Times Of India.
Gambhir admitted that they are in a tight corner and need to play good cricket in order to survive. "After Chennai game, I came to know that we need to win at least five out of our seven remaining matches in order to qualify. We need to play some good cricket consistently which we haven't been doing.
Meanwhile according to a report in Mail Today, Eion Morgan expressed sympathy with Delhi Daredevils' misfortune in losing Kevin Pietersen to injury for the whole season. "When Kevin's not playing - and I know it because I've played with him a lot [for England] and also without him when he's had the odd injury - he's a big loss. He's your world-class guy who can take the game away from you regardless of who you're playing against, be it against Australia on numerous occasions, or in the Mumbai Test against India last year. It's a huge loss for Delhi," Morgan told Mail Today.
The left-handed Morgan has been in good form this season, being the Knight Riders' second- highest scorer behind Gautam Gambhir, but just three wins out of nine have left him disappointed. "It's nice to have contributed, but we haven't got over the line enough times to be satisfied with. In the last few games, we have played good cricket, and things have started to look a bit brighter. We're looking more of a unit, and that's really positive.
