Down with form slump, KKR determined to be positive

Kolkata, April 23 (IANS) With their title defence under threat following a string of losses, the Kolkata Knight Riders have a selection headache on the foreigners-front, ahead of their crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Mumbai Indians Wednesday.

"Our spinners and (Eoin) Morgan have been the best performers for the team. So it will be tough to include (Brendon) McCullum and we will have to think about this issue extensively", KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir told mediapersons after a match eve practice session at the Eden Gardens.

The KKR management has been in a quandary over the inclusion of the explosive McCullum as the four foreigners in the playing eleven - spinners Sunil Narine and Sachithra Senanayeke, all-rounder Jacques Kallis and batter Morgan - have been doing well.

Admitting that the team was under pressure after losing four out of six games, Gambhir said the Knight Riders will strive to play positive cricket and would not change their plans because of the recent setbacks.

He also backed the move to promote Yusuf Pathan to the top of the order and using Debabrata Das as the wicketkeeper in the previous match.

"They were positive moves that gave balance to the team," said Gambhir.

The southpaw said the tag of defending champions itself was the biggest motivation but conceded that "it is a challenge to motivate players when things aren't going your way".

"Last year, things were going our way, but we are united this time around as well," added Gambhir.