Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Ajinjkya Rahane said the franchide is "completely backing" struggling vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer.
The defending champions enter a do-or-die phase in the IPL, needing wins in each of their four remaining games to stay in contention for the playoffs.
Iyer, the costliest player for the franchise at Rs 23.75 crore, has been erratic with his scores of 60 and 45 in consecutive games being the only performances of note.
In the last four matches, he has scored a total of 28 runs but Rahane has backed his deputy to come good soon.
"Every player goes through that phase where he is trying his best but the performance is not coming. He is a quality player. We all know that he has done well for the franchisee in the past, (he has) won the matches for the team as well,"
"It's important from management (and) leadership group point of view (that) we back him. He has been working really hard. People generally only see about the results and the outcome. But the hard work which all the players are doing, that is really important."
"From my point of view, we are completely backing Venkatesh Iyer. He is just one innings away. You can probably see one good innings from him in next four games," he added.
Rahane admitted KKR have struggled to find a successful opening pair and their combinations have been failing to make a dent.
"Sunil Narine has done well in the past for us. This year, we started with Quinny (Quinton de Kock). Quinny played a very good knock. But again, he couldn't capitalise on that. He is trying hard. He is trying his best. But now, we have to look at the positives rather than what is not working for us," he said.
"Obviously, the errors (have) happened and that can happen in this format. You want your players to play with freedom, play sometimes with high-risk cricket, so we are bound to make errors."
"I don't like to pinpoint on any players or any particular number. Everyone has to contribute...It's not happening, yes. I accept that."
Rahane said KKR will take it one game at a time and not look too far ahead with their next two opponents, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, already out of contention.
"When teams are out, they have got nothing to lose and they come with a different mindset to play the game. For us, it's important to go out there with the right mindset (and) right attitude on that particular day and give our best," he said.
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