How Kolkata Knight Riders’ Dh10 million Green investment backfired

Kolkata Knight Riders must have bet on a Green future when they invested Rs252 million (approx Dh10 million) to buy 26-year-old Cameron Green in what turned out to be the most expensive purchase of this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

Instead, the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned side find themselves massively shortchanged, with the Australian all-rounder lasting a mere 14 balls in the three matches he has batted so far in scoring 24 runs and not bowling a single ball.

For the record, Kolkata have lost their first two matches with the third being rained off on Monday, leaving them 8^th on the 10-team table, but not before Green managed to get himself dismissed for the third time after scoring just 4 runs against Punjab Kings, having made 18 against Mumbai Indians in the first match and 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second.

It is a very poor return for the amount of money Kolkata are paying for the star all-rounder and to make matters worse, he has been barred from bowling by his country’s board Cricket Australia (CA).

The reason, according to a CA statement released March-end, is that Green is suffering a lower-back injury and the all-rounder will be "returning to bowling within 10-12 days". To add to Kolkata’s woes, the absence of Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana has left a massive hole in the team's bowling attack, resulting in the side conceding 224 runs against Mumbai and 226 runs against Hyderabad.

Speaking after the Mumbai match, captain Ajinkya Rahane suggested that decisions regarding Green's bowling were influenced by Cricket Australia, indicating that the matter was not entirely in the team's hands.

Cricket Australia later confirmed that Green's workload is being carefully managed due to the lower-back concern, with the franchise reportedly informed about the restriction ahead of the tournament.

Understandably, fans and critics are up in arms and Kolkata’s bowling coach Tim Southee had to fend off questions regarding Green’s availability to bowl ahead of Monday’s match. "Green has been bowling well, tracking obviously his rehab and getting himself back to being able to bowl in games. He'll continue to do that. We are in regular contact with Australian cricket [board], and I am sure we will see Green bowling soon," the ex-New Zealand medium-fast bowler said.

Two former Indian players, though, are having none of it.

Speaking on Star Sports' 'Amul Cricket Live', JioStar expert and Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar discussed Green's role in the team and said they should consider recruiting a specialist to make up for the loss.

"KKR will need to think about their combination if Cameron Green is not going to bowl. If he isn't contributing with the ball, then they might have to consider bringing in another specialist batter. We know he has scored a hundred in the IPL and that he can bat well, but his form hasn't been great recently.

"Yes, he scored a hundred in a red-ball game in Australia not long ago, but this is where the team needs to look closely at the numbers. Green at No 4 is fine, but the bigger concern seems to be the No 5 and No 6 positions, where they appear to be struggling a bit," said Gavaskar.

Another former India opener Wasim Jaffer took to X to voice his opinion on the matter, stressing that franchises should have full control over how players are used once they are part of a privately-run competition.

"Cam Green not bowling is unfair for KKR. Once you're playing in a private league, it shouldn't be your country that decides what you can and cannot do during that league. If that's the case, you might as well not play. Teams pay huge amounts to acquire players with certain skill sets, and not using one of the skill sets, not because of injury, but because of workload management, is unfair to the franchise," he wrote.

Just three matches into this year’s IPL and it already appears that a Green investment is not enough to guarantee a sustainable future for Kolkata Knight Riders.