Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan’s lack of form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 has been a talking point in the ongoing season.

In the last five matches, since the resumption of IPL 2021, Morgan has failed to cross the double digits. He has managed only 17 runs in 4 innings so far.

After KKR’s five wicket loss against Punjab Kings, coach Brendon McCullum also questioned Morgan’s lack of form with the bat.

“Morgan is one of our senior players, and he is one of our international batters. As captain also, in his own head he would have liked to contribute a lot more runs,” said McCullum during a virtual post-match press conference.

“Actually, I think he has captained the side really well tactically. We want some more runs from him. No doubt in that, you need some runs from your overseas batter. Look, I am confident that he will come right,” he added.

Punjab Kings boosted their chances of making the IPL play-offs with a five-wicket win over KKR as effective death over bowling and smart batting by skipper KL Rahul and Shahrukh Khan shaped their crucial victory in Dubai on Friday.

Rahul scored 67 runs off 55 balls and shared a 70-run stand with fellow opener Mayank Agarwal (40), knocking off a 166-run target with three balls to spare.

Shahrukh produced an impactful 9-ball 22-run knock when it mattered and finished the match with a six.

“We played a great game, Punjab Kings deserved to win because they seized the key moments. I still felt we had a chance in the game, with two overs to go. It was a touch and go, small margin in the game, which didn’t go our way,” said McCullum.

Earlier, Venkatesh Iyer hit a fluent 67 while Nitish Rana produced a fiery 31 off 18 balls before Punjab Kings managed to stop KKR at 165 for 7.

“Venkatesh Iyer is definitely an all-rounder. It is not just his cricketing ability, it is his mindset and cricketing brain. He is a guy with huge ambition and has a great as a general all-rounder. I think he is one of those cricketer, who is going to get better and better,” said McCullum.

Kolkata Knight Riders will face SunRisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Sunday.