When Kolkata Knight Riders spent INR 25.20 crore on Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, they thought he would replace the retired Andre Russell and play a key role in the franchise’s success in IPL 2026. However, the expectations are often different from reality and by now, the team management and the decision-makers must be worried as Green could enter the club as one of the most expensive flops in the history of the tournament.
In the first three matches of the 19th season, he has scored 18, 2, 4, with KKR suffering crushing defeats. To make matters worse, he is still not fit to bowl and has been restricted by Cricket Australia to avoid any fitness concerns in the near future. In the match against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, he reached 18 before Shardul Thakur got rid of him.
The right-handed batter was backed for the second game of the new edition against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home, but he was run out. In the clash with Punjab, Green was undone by his fellow countryman, Xavier Bartlett.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane was furious with Green for not bowling, and he blamed Cricket Australia for no clarity on the matter. However, the officials of CA soon exposed Rahane, saying that KKR were informed about the situation in advance, and the player would take time before he could be used as a bowler.
Most Expensive IPL Signings
Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants, 2025) – ₹27 crore.
Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings, 2025) – ₹26.75 crore.
Cameron Green (Kolkata Knight Riders, 2026) – ₹25.20 crore.
Mitchell Starc (Kolkata Knight Riders, 2024) – ₹24.75 crore.
Venkatesh Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders, 2025) – ₹23.75
Meanwhile, KKR are taking on PBKS at the moment, with the home franchise batting first after winning the toss. Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy have been ruled out of the match.
Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Navdeep Saini, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi
KKR Impact Subs: Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Saurabh Dubey, Blessing Muzarabani
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
PBKS Impact Subs: Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Pravin Dubey, Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar
