Gautam Gambhir, the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, is adamant that his team is not out of the race for the playoffs despite having won just four games so far, which has left them in seventh place with 8 points after 11 matches.

“We are very much in the race,” Gambhir said. I haven’t heard anyone say that we’re out. A lot of people are saying that we need to win five out of five games. But if you see the last three years, teams have qualified in the top four with eight wins.”is comments came on the eve of KKR’s match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, where Mumbai have been unbeaten this season, winning five out of five. And their last win might have been the most impressive as they handed a streaking Chennai Super Kings their biggest loss ever in the IPL. The pitches at the Wankhede Stadium has favoured seam over spin but Gambhir believes that in Sunil Narine and Suchitra Senanayake KKR have spinners who have the quality to succeed on any wicket.

“Fast bowlers have been more successful on this wicket because of the bounce and the swing later in the evening,” he said. “But I believe that when you have quality, you have quality. Good spinners don’t require helpful surfaces to succeed. Both our spinners have many variation and tricks up their sleeve. So, you never know, we might end up picking them both even on this track.

KKR have also struggled with their batting, with Jacques Kallis coming in for particular criticism. Kallis’ average has dropped from 25.56 to 21.90 and he has a strike-rate of just 104.78 this season. However, Gambhir argued that Kallis has just been performing the role that has been assigned to him.. “We’re absolutely fine with his game,” Gambhir said. “We’ve got all kind of players. There are people like Brendon (McCullum) and Yusuf (Pathan) who thrive on strike-rates and bat at a rate of more than 130-140. So, we need someone to anchor the innings and Jacques has been playing that role for us.

“We have picked our squad based on that thinking. We pick players to play the role that suits their own game rather than asking them to change their game. We need someone, who the team can bat around and Jacques has done that very successfully for us.”As for KKR effectively being in a must-win situation as they head into the final stretch of the regular season, Gambhir said he always wants to win every game so this situation is no different.

“Whether it’s the start or the end of a tournament, we always go out there to win. The desperation is always there. Till now we have approached every game with the same hunger and desperation and it’s not that only because we are in a position like this that we are desperate to win. We have to look at the remaining games like any other game rather than think it’s a must-win game.”