'Form is a rubbish word' - Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist has attributed the decision to drop himself as captain and player for the match against Mumbai Indians largely to team balance and the wealth of batting resources on the bench. Gilchrist, who followed the example of Mumbai Indians' Ricky Ponting by leaving himself out of the playing XI, has had a lean tournament to date, managing only 94 runs in eight matches.

"Since the last few games we've had to think about it as a selection group," Gilchrist told IPLT20.com. "We had to look at the right balance and find the right players who were playing well and could contribute most to the team."

Gilchrist believed that form is not an accurate representation of what has been afflicting him this tournament. "Form is a rubbish word. I have hit a lot of balls in the nets and have felt very comfortable. But that hasn't translated to results in [the] games." He was also aware of the batting talent on hand. "At the end of the day I haven't contributed, and that's no problem when you've got batting talent like Shaun Marsh, [Luke] Pomersbach, David Hussey and David Miller. It's not a tough decision."

When asked whether he had considered giving up the wicketkeeping gloves and playing solely as a batsman, Gilchrist said, "No, never, I've played years and years of cricket now. So for me it's not a case of having to focus on batting because keeping is taking up time and energy. It's part of my nature and part of who I am. It's like riding a bike, once you know it, you don't need to focus on the skills required and think of the work load impeding on the batting. If anything, I have contributed more with the gloves than with the bat this year and so I am lucky to have my keeping gloves on."