Cameron Green (PTI Photo/Sailendra Bhojak) Bombay: Over the years, the IPL has seen various top buys burdened by the pressure of their high price tags. In 2014 it was Yuvraj Singh, bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 14 crore, while in 2025 it was Rishabh Pant, bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore, who both seemed weighed down by their massive auction prices. There were many others as well.In this context, there is a genuine concern that the last on the list could be Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping Rs 25.20 crore in the IPL mini-auction in November last year.
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IPL 2026: Shubman Gill hits back at critics – ‘I don’t need to prove my worth’ However, ahead of his team’s IPL-2026 opener against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night, KKR assistant coach and former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson said Green will not be weighed down by his hefty price tag, pointing out that the Australian all-rounder prefers to play with absolute freedom.“I’ve seen players in the past who have had a high price on them. I’ve seen them crumble in the past; that wave of expectation has really stifled their ability to perform at their best,” Watson told reporters ahead of KKR’s practice session at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.Watson recalled that Green was bought by Mumbai Indians and later traded to RCB for a high price and had done reasonably well in the past. “Cameron certainly doesn’t see it that way. We saw with him a couple of years ago when he was picked up to play here at MI for quite a bit of money (Green’s first IPL was in 2023 when MI bought him for INR 17.5 million), he had a very good season (scoring 452 runs at a strike rate of 0. That’s 28 wickets when he put up 16 runs). he’ll come to the IPL – that he’s got nothing to lose,” Watson said.“Obviously that’s what people are willing to pay for him, but he’s there to be as free as he can, as best he can, and we’ve seen how that’s been very beneficial to his performances in the IPL over the last couple of seasons. If you’ve seen the way he’s trained in the last couple of weeks, I don’t think his performance is free and he might get too excited about being stuffy.” even in the middle,” he explained.Watson said joining KKR was “very exciting” for him, particularly because of the opportunity to work closely with Green. “There are a number of exciting things about me coming to KKR. One of the biggest is working with Cameron Green. I’ve had a few conversations with him over the years, but being able to help him on his journey and support his growth is something I’m really excited about,” Watson said.Hampered by injuries to pacers Harshit Rana and Akash Deep, who have both been ruled out of IPL-2026, Watson admitted that KKR are “doing everything” to get Matheeshu Pathiran into their camp.“It’s a waiting game at the moment and we are guided by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board. We are doing everything we can to get him here as soon as possible. With the caliber of support staff and medical staff that we have here at KKR, we have exactly the same interests as Sri Lankan cricket. We want Pathirana to never meet him. We definitely need him here sooner than ever. We want him to be fit.“We’re just hoping he can get here sooner rather than later and we can really start the integration process,” Watson said.Watson heaped praise on Zimbabwean pacer Blessing Muzarabani, who was drafted days before the tournament, and said KKR hoped he would seize the opportunity and deliver the goods. “Life is about opportunities and to see someone like Blessing Muzarabani get the opportunity he’s worked so hard for with his actions on the field is fantastic. He’s a great athlete for a tall guy. He’s got great ability and for him to have the opportunity to put it on the world stage and test himself against the best batsmen in the world,” Wamtson said.Watson revealed that KKR’s young top-order batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi of Mumbai is holding off on it to be ready to don the gloves. “Raghuvanshi has been working tirelessly on his wicket for the last five or six months.
