Kings XI will look to get partnerships going: Gilchrist

Deprived of solid opening partnerships so far in the tournament, Kings XI Punjab skipper Adam Gilchrist said they are looking to change the trend ahead of their Indian Premier League match against Kolkata Knight Riders here on Wednesday.

"We haven't quite had an opening partnership, myself and the other partner getting out early and we are looking to change that," Gilchrist told a pre-match conference here on Tuesday.

The top order's form has been a cause for concern for Kings XI, with Gilchrist yet to make substantial contributions with the bat. The other opener, Paul Valthaty, has also disappointed.

Gilchrist was responding to a question that some of the top Indian batsmen including Virender Sehwag, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma have clicked for their respective teams while the same has not been the case for KXIP.

He also said that Valthaty, hero of last edition, knows he can put up a better performance. "He is by no means out of contention in this tournament. It is just that we haven't batted a perfect match or anywhere near that," he said.

After two initial losses,  Kings XI bounced back with two consecutive victories -- one at home against Pune Warriors and the other a narrow 2-run win over tomorrow's opponents at the Eden Gardens just two days back.

On his own form, the Aussie said that he had two starts and two failures so far. "(In T20) we all want to go 10 an over risk-free when we bat, but unfortunately, that risk doesn't always pay off."

Gilchrist said that aggressive has been the nature of his batting over the years, be it T20, or any other format. Having retired from international cricket, Gilchrist said that he enjoys playing in the IPL and his role as coach, captain and keeping the wickets for his team.

Gilchrist said returning to IPL after being out of competitive cricket for a major part of the year was more of a "mental battle" than a physical one.

The Aussie said he prepares to play his role out there in the middle rather than just jumping straight into it and going "gung-ho".

About fielding the same playing XI back-to-back, the captain said that it helps the team to plan better and make their choices accordingly.

To another question, he said that former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood is available for selection. "He's in contention. It's nice to have him after a bit of delay. But we haven't finalised our 11 yet, but definitely he is available for selection," he said.

Gilchrist heaped praise on his bowlers, especially Praveen Kumar, Harmeet Bansal and Piyush Chawla. "They were very committed, pretty disciplined and an overall great effort from them," he said.

Gilchrist said Kyle Abbott and Benjamin Cutting, the replacements for the injured bowling duo of R Satish and Stuart Broad, will give the team further choice.

"Kyle is a very solid cricketer, a good all-round cricketer and he will be a good utility backup," Gilchrist said, adding the team was waiting for the arrival of Cutting.