After team captain Ajinkya Rahane caused a stir by claiming that only Cameron Green’s home board understood why he was unable to bowl in their IPL opener against the Mumbai Indians, Cricket Australia clarified on Monday that the Kolkata Knight Riders’ management is “fully aware” the all-rounder’s of injury situation.
In response to questions about Green’s absence as a bowler in Mumbai Sunday night, Rahane said, “Ask Cricket Australia,” which sparked a debate about the player’s present state of fitness.
“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 return in around 10-12 days’ time. KKR has been communicated with and is fully aware of this information,” PTI quoted a CA spokesperson as saying.
After surgery for a stress fracture in his back, Green was unable to bowl competitively for almost a full year, from September 2024 to October 2025. Even after that time, he made very little contributions with the ball.
Green bowled just two overs in his most recent competitive match, which took place on February 20 at Pallekele during the T20 World Cup against Oman earlier this year. During the tournament, Green only bowled 19 deliveries and claimed one wicket (against Zimbabwe).
At the IPL mini auction, KKR went all out to get the Australian for an incredible Rs 25.20 crore, making him the most expensive overseas acquisition. Key pacers Matheesha Pathirana, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, and Mustafizur Rahman are already absent from the team.
In the midst of political tensions with Bangladesh, the BCCI ordered Mustafizur to be withdrawn from the KKR lineup; nevertheless, injuries prevented Harshit and Akash Deep from playing. Another well-known acquisition, “Slinger” Pathirana, is still healing from a niggle and has not yet joined the team.
Despite defending a tough target 220, KKR had a serious pace-bowling dilemma in their IPL opener against Mumbai Indians because Green could not be used with the ball.
They had to utilize an uncapped Kartik Tyagi as an Impact Sub while Vaibhav Arora and rookie Blessing Muzarabani, who took Mustafizur’s position, shared new-ball responsibilities.
With Arora giving up runs at 13 per over, Muzarabani leaking over 11 per over on debut, and Tyagi going for more than 10 per over, the Mumbai Indians exposed KKR’s limited bowling resources. To make matters worse, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy also struggled and leaked 12 runs in an over. MI won by six wickets, with 5 balls to spare.
Rahane acknowledged that his team was having trouble striking the right balance.
“Hopefully Green starts to bowl soon and the combination will be slightly different. It was really tough for the bowlers. Inexperienced attack, but these boys will learn. Strong batting lineup. So it’s a learning curve. I thought MI batted well. Our bowlers will definitely learn,” Rahane added.
