To make amends for a big mistake in Venkatesh Iyer, Kolkata Knight Riders went all in for Cameron Green at the IPL 2026 Auction. They had to fight hard against Chennai Super Kings to land the Australian all-rounder for a whopping Rs 25.20 Crore. However, as IPL 2026 kicks off on March 28, KKR are still unsure about Green’s role in the Playing XI. Will he open with Finn Allen or slot in at No 3 or a place in the middle-order?
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane revealed that the team management still had not had a chat with Cameron Green about his role. Green, who will join the KKR squad on March 21 and missed out on the first intra-squad match on March 20. With form not on his side, things could get a little complicated as Rachin Ravindra and Rovman Powell are also two strong candidates to start.
“We still haven’t had discussions with Cameron Green about his role. But as said earlier, he is a quality player. He can bat at any number and can bowl us overs. So, we are playing our first practice game tonight. At the moment, there are plenty of things going on; as for Green we discuss with him and among the management,” Ajinkya Rahane said at KKR’s pre-season press conference in Kolkata.
Where does Cameron Green fit in?
Cameron Green ended T20 World Cup 2026 for Australia with just 24 runs under his belt in three innings. With the ball, he only bowled 3.1 overs in those games, bagging just one wicket. Since returning to Australia’s T20I side, Green has averaged just 19.5 with the bat and with the ball, he has just two wickets. It’s clear that things are not going well for him in a format where he has been paid Rs 25.2 crore to deliver the goods.
However, since KKR paid a hefty price for the all-rounder, they will be forced to play him at least in the beginning, benching Rachin Ravindra, who was the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in the T20 World Cup and a lower-order power-hitter, Rovman Powell. In the IPL, he had a great debut season with Mumbai Indians back in 2023 when he scored 452 runs in 16 matches. But after switching to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he did not live up to the hype. Green is already reeling under the pressure and his recent outburst at a journalist was just one example.
If Green is to open the innings, Ajinkya Rahane will have to drop to No 3. But that will create additional issues as Angkrish Raghuvanshi isn’t really a middle-order player. Additionally, Sunil Narine’s batting prowess is only reserved for the powerplay. If Green is to drop down to No 3 for Narine to open, KKR will miss out on Rahane, who did really well opening the innings.
Former India and CSK star S Badrinath also hit out at KKR’s decision to pick an out-of-form player based on just hype.
“You’ve signed him for Rs 25 Cr, and he is woefully out of form. He struggled massively for Australia in the T20 World Cup. Cameron Green went for so much purely because of the hype. He is not worth that much. Has he single-handedly done anything in the IPL? Australian players always get hyped up, and he benefited from that. I believe it was a bad move by KKR,” S Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
‘In Green, we trust’
However, the Men in Purple have trust in Green. And to ease things for everyone, Green hit a century in the Sheffield Shield to warm up for IPL 2026. While his T20 form is still a concern, KKR assistant coach Cameron Watson has trust in him. The headache for him is the batting order with many options at the top.
“Obviously, with Cameron Green, the quality of cricketer he is as an all-rounder means that wherever he gets an opportunity, he is going to make the most of it. We’ve got some seriously powerful, world-class players, along with a blend of experience and youthful energy. It’s exciting to see how that plays out over the course of the tournament,” Watson said at the press conference.
KKR squad for IPL 2026
Batters
Ajinkya Rahane (C), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Finn Allen (WK), Tejasvi Singh (WK), Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rovman Powell
All-Rounders
Sunil Narine, Cameron Green, Anukul Roy, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Ramandeep Singh
Bowlers
Blessing Muzarabani, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Akash Deep, Umran Malik, Varun Chakravarthy
Cricket
KKR still unsure about Cameron Green's role in IPL 2026 despite shelling out INR 25.2 Cr
