If you are a Kolkata Knight Riders fan, then this would be the sight you have been waiting for. Ahead of the IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Cameron Green was seen diving full-on into the nets after not being used in the loss against MI.
Green which was bought for Rs. $25.2 million, hasn’t played much for Australia this year but was expected to be Andre Russell’s replacement for Kolkata. However, he did not bowl a single delivery in the game at the Wankhede. Ajinkya Rahane then said that it was a call from Cricket Australiato which they responded with a strong message.
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Since then, the call by KKR to pay the all-rounder has been criticized by pundits. But now Green was seen back in the nets and Kolkata hinted that a return with the ball was not far off.
KKR DEFEND GREEN PURCHASE
KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar defended the decision to buy Green in a press conference ahead of the SRH match despite knowing he would not be able to bowl for some time.
“Well, I think the idea of picking a player in an auction is not always very short-sighted. You look at what a player has done over a number of years and what ability he has.
“The sport is interesting in the way that you often catch a player with some progress and sometimes he might even do the skill you’re talking about and not perform. But for us, Cameron Green, the cricketer and the all-rounder, was really important.”
“Sometimes you take a lot of things into account, whether it’s injuries, improvement in fitness, but at the end of the day I think when it comes to the auction and the tournament, it’s not immediate,” Nayar said.
Nayar said Green is unlucky not to be bowling at the moment. The KKR coach said the idea behind selecting Green was to take Andre Russell’s legacy forward.
“It’s not in your power, but that’s the sport and that’s the beauty of the sport. So we always consider the best possible scenarios. Yes, you want a backup, you take players who do certain things, but when we went into the auction, the idea was very simple. If Russ wasn’t there? Who is the next best all-rounder that we felt was in the world and we could add a lot more value to that Russ and we could play the role of Camon differently. It’s just unfortunate that he couldn’t go as far,” he said Nayar.
It remains to be seen whether Green will take the plunge during the SRH game as KKR look to bounce back from the loss in Mumbai.
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Published on:
01 April 2026 20:39 IST
