New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is likely to take up bowling in the next match in Kolkata Knight Riders’ next match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, a report has claimed.

Green, who became the most expensive foreign player in the IPL Auction when he was purchased by the KKR for Rs 25.20 crore, has played for the team in their opening matches as a pure batter.

According to Cricket Australia, KKR had been informed that Green would start IPL 2026 as a specialist batter. “Cameron has a lower-back injury, which is being managed, but requires him to abstain from bowling for a short period. Cameron is currently rebuilding his bowling loads in India with a view to returning in around 10-12 days’ time,” CA said in a statement released after KKR’s first match against the Mumbai Indians on March 30.

Now, with KKR playing the 15th game of the season against LSG and more than ten days having passed since Cricket Australia’s update, ESPNcricinfo has reported that Green is ready to bowl in a competitive situation.

Green has failed to deliver as a batter in his first three matches, as the Australian player has managed to score just 24 runs in three innings. He hit 18 runs in KKR’s campaign opener against the Mumbai Indians (MI) but failed to cross the double-digit mark in the next two matches against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) as he got out for just two and four runs, respectively.

Green’s absence is felt heavily in the KKR’s bowling department, which is already without Matheesha Pathirana, Harshit Rana, and Akash Deep, who are recovering from injuries, while Mustafizur Rahman has been removed from the squad on instructions from the BCCI well before the tournament started. Varun Chakaravarthy’s poor form has further added to the KKR’s woes.

As a result, the three-time champions have lost both the opening matches and have just one point as their third match against PBKS got abandoned due to rain.

–IANS

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