Embattled skipper Dinesh Karthik says he is “aware of bickering and back-biting”, his comments coming in the backdrop of speculations around leadership and batting order in Kolkata Knight Riders.

KKR snapped a six-match losing streak with a 34-run win over Mumbai Indians at the Eden Gardens Sunday, days after questions were raised about Andre Russell’s batting position, with the West Indian power-hitter himself expressing a desire to bat higher at No. 4.

“It’s a high pressure sport, a high octane tournament, you’ve got to make sure everybody’s in a great space, give them the best chance to do well and stay healthy,” Karthik said at the post-match presentation. “A lot of bickering and back-biting can go on in these sorts of situations. I’m very aware of it and (I) make sure nothing like that happens.

Regarding Russell, who has made incredible hitting his favourite pastime, the keeper-batsman was impressed with his maturity.“Russell is a great player, he’s a special player and it’s good to see him grow as a player. The maturity he’s showing is great to see.

“I was just talking about the same to him. These balls cost a lot and we need to ask him to keep calm. We live another day, that’s important and the crowd has been fantastic,” Karthik said.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said he was not too worried about how his bowlers will come back from the onslaught at the hands of Russell and Shubman Gill.“This is a learning for us. We will find some answers going forward. Today was a testing time for us, but I am not really worried how the bowling unit will come back from this,” Rohit said after his team conceded 232 runs at the Eden Gardens.