No bowling & 18-run cameo: How Cameron Green went on KKR debut

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were all over the place in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. Facing the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium, the 3-time IPL champions looked like headless chickens. On paper, the batting did well. But upon dissection, one realised that two of their highest scorers were under par. The bowling was non-existent.

Why didn’t Cameron Green bowl?

At the centre of the problem was Cameron Green. KKR had shelled out INR 25.20 crore for the all-rounder in December. When you pay someone one-fourth of your total purse, you expect them to be the player around whom the team plays. But Green was nowhere to be found, especially in the second innings.

A tall hit-the-deck bowler, Green wasn’t even used. Sunil Narine turned out to be KKR’s best bowler, and he went at 10 runs per over. Anukul Roy was given an over, that too when spin was working, over Green. Why didn’t the Aussie bowl? Does he have an injury? Was he asked to manage his workload? Was it as simple as KKR didn’t trust his bowling? Was it just poor tactics?

All of these questions are worth asking. But no one has an answer. At least, not right now. Earlier this month, Green appeared for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield. Guess what? He didn’t bowl. Is that an indication that he isn’t fit to bowl? We’ll wait for KKR to answer that.

Moments after MI won, Ajinkya Rahane answered the question. He stated that Cricket Australia (CA) hasn’t permitted Green to bowl, because of which KKR couldn’t find the balance. “Inexperienced bowling attack, but these boys will learn. Hopefully, Green starts to bowl soon. Finding the balance with the ball is really important. (Why Green didn’t bowl) The question you need to ask Cricket Australia,” Rahane said in the post-match interview.

Spark but no fire

Green wasn’t that bad in the batting department. He entered the middle in the last over of the powerplay. Took Mayank Markande down in the 7th over. He continued to attack, but Shardul Thakur got the better of him in the 9th over, with a short ball outside off. Green tried to muscle the slower ball over deep point but didn’t get the distance.

A good cameo, 18 off 10, which meant the run rate, which was over 13 when he entered, remained high, over 12 when he departed. Considering Rahane, who was 36 off 18 when the powerplay ended, usually slows down in the middle overs, Green did the job.

KKR would’ve liked for him to continue for longer, but considering they had Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, and Sunil Narine left, you can’t really fault Green for going hard.

The post No bowling & 18-run cameo: How Cameron Green went on KKR debut appeared first on Inside Sport India.