Mumbai: Kolkata Knight Riders' mentor Jacques Kallis has defended the decision to drop Sunil Narine against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.

"We felt it was a kind of wicket which could help the seamers.

"There was some grass on the wicket. So, we decided to include an extra pace bowler instead of Narine.

"Well, it was a gamble that did not pay off. At the same time, Narine is not the bowler he used to be last season. But he is trying to come back. So, we'd thought of playing Azhar Mahmood," Kallis after the nine-run loss to Royals.

"But then it was a tough call... A tough selection. It does happen in T20 cricket."

Kallis stressed on the lack of consistency factor. "Well, we should have won more away games.

"We did win some matches, some of them convincingly, but when it came to away matches, we could win only a couple of them. It is a long tournament... If you want to win it, then you have to be more consistent."