New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Abhishek Nayar has defended the franchise’s record-breaking move for Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, describing him as a long-term investment to take the three-time IPL champions forward following the retirement of Andre Russell.

Green emerged as the headline signing of the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi last week after KKR secured him for a record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore, making him the most expensive overseas player in IPL history and the third-costliest buy overall after Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer.

Explaining the franchise’s aggressive approach at the auction, Nayar told JioStar that KKR were determined to land Green and were unconcerned about the price tag, saying, “I can’t say how high we were willing to go for him, but we wanted to go all out. If we have the money, we spend it. There was no point in saving the money. The idea was to do whatever we could to get Green because he is a very important player for us. With Andre Russell gone, we need someone to take the franchise forward. So, we decided we must have Cameron Green.”

Nayar also revealed that KKR see Green as a key top-order batter capable of delivering consistently across the season. “We see Cameron Green batting in the top three. He is a player who can score 500 runs for us. That is why we were so desperate to get him. We know he has that ability. He has scored over 500 runs in the IPL before, so he can do well in the top order. He solves different problems for us,” he added.

The head coach highlighted the importance of top-order contributions in KKR’s past successes. “Over the past few years, our success came when our top three players scored more than 400 runs. The hope is that he can score big runs for us.”

Nayar also addressed KKR’s unsuccessful attempt to bring back Venkatesh Iyer, who was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the auction. He said, “Venkatesh Iyer has been a franchise player for us from the start. We tried to get him back. We felt other teams were saving money for different players, so we thought we could get him at a lower price. He is experienced and fits our setup, giving us flexibility.”

However, he acknowledged the challenge posed by rival franchises during the bidding process. “We tried, but RCB always seems to go after our players. This year they got him. Venkatesh has been phenomenal for us over the years, and I wish him all the best in his new IPL journey.”

–IANS

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