Kolkata Knight Riders’ high-profile signing Cameron Green has bowled in the nets again and is “not far off” in the match, bowling coach Tim Southee said on Sunday, offering an update ahead of their Indian Premier League match against the Punjab Kings.
Australian all-rounder, the The most expensive IPL purchase abroad at Rs 25.20 crorehe is still bowling this season as his workload continues to be managed by Cricket Australia following back surgery.
“Yes, Green has bowled well, followed his rehabilitation and got back to bowling in games. He will continue to do so,” Southee said on the eve of the contest.
Despite bowling at full capacity during Saturday’s training session, Green is unlikely to feature against the Punjab Kings on Monday as the franchise is unwilling to bring him back into a full role.
KKR’s preparations also took a hit as their match day minus one session at Eden Gardens failed. Most of the senior players stayed away while a few household names, including Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rahul Tripathi, trained indoors.
At the start of the season, the focus on KKR’s bowling became sharper. Injuries and unavailability, among them Mustafizur Rahman, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Matheesha Pathirana, leave little experience in the attack. The absence of Green as a bowling option only added to those concerns.
This came into focus in their opening defeat to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium where KKR failed to defend 220.
When we asked if Cameron Green was bowling, Captain Ajinkya Rahane quipped, “Ask Cricket Australia,” a remark that later prompted the board to clarify that the franchise remained fully on board with the all-rounder’s recovery schedule.
Southee said communication with the Australian board was continuing.
“We’re in regular contact with Cricket Australia and I’m sure we’ll see Cameron bowling soon. I’m sure he’s not far from bowling in the match,” he said.
KKR are still waiting for their first win as they have lost both their matches so far, including a 65-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous match on April 2.
Despite the results, there were encouraging signs. Blessing Muzarabani impressed with 4 for 41 while Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi contributed timely wickets. But the experienced spin pair of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy are yet to find their rhythm.
“It’s a long tournament for sure, two games in a row. With the setbacks with the bowlers that we haven’t been able to experience, it presents opportunities for the other guys. We’re still excited about the bowling group we’ve got,” Southee said.
“They are inexperienced, but they have a tremendous amount of skill. We saw that firsthand in the first two games. Our job is to get a little more consistency out of them.”
He also pointed out the need for early goals, especially in power plays.
“It’s always difficult when you don’t take wickets, especially in the over. Early wickets hamper the run flow and make things easy. We haven’t quite got it right yet, but we’ll plan accordingly and hopefully take those early wickets.”
Selection challenges were also discussed, with Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra and Rovman Powell yet to appear. However, Southee said deciding on the right combination is rarely simple.
“There’s so much talent it’s hard to get the perfect balance. But it’s the side we thought was best for the first two games. We’ll plan what we’re going up against and pick the team that gives us the best chance,” he added.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
05 Apr 2026 20:48 IST
