Kolkata Knight Riders ‘ (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane believes that once Cameron Green resumes bowling, the team combination will have a lot more balance in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL). His assessment came after KKR’s one-sided defeat to the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, March 29.
When asked why Green didn’t bowl in the high-scoring clash, Rahane, who scored an enterprising half-century, had a short but intriguing response.
“Ask Cricket Australia,” the former India Test captain said while speaking after KKR’s six-wicket defeat against the five-time champions.
Rahane hoped that Green would start bowling soon and added that the Kolkata-based franchise is still sorting out the combination of players who can help them succeed in IPL 2026.
“I think when hopefully Green starts to bowl soon, the combination will be slightly different. At the moment, we have to see the balance and who can bowl well for us. Batting-wise, as I said, we batted really well, but finding that balance with the ball is really important. So, hopefully, Green starts to bowl soon, [and] then we can find out whether the combination will be okay,” he added.
Unfortunately, Cameron Green cannot bowl at this moment: Rahane
Rahane explained the importance of having a sixth bowling option, as he doesn’t want to put undue pressure on mystery spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy.
“Unfortunately, Cameron Green cannot bowl at this moment. When he starts bowling, the combination will be slightly different. At the moment for us having that sixth option as a bowler is really important because we don’t want to put too much pressure on our spinners as well, because as I said, Sunil and Varun have experience,” Rahane said.
“Vaibhav just started to do really well last year. He had a good season for us, but we don’t want to put too much pressure [on him]. Batting-wise, we will take that responsibility to score runs, but the bowlers will take some time, and I am sure they will be okay, they will be fine,” he added.
KKR posted a commendable 220/4 in their 20 overs after being asked to bat first. Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored majestic fifties, while Finn Allen, Green, and Rinku played key knocks.
In reply, Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton scored brilliant fifties, making life easier for the batters to come. Hardik Pandya walked out to bat at No. 5 and remained unbeaten on 18 off 11 balls. The five-time champions raced to victory in 19.1 overs.
