Star Australia and Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Cameron Green, whose absence from the bowling lineup had become a concern with a Rs 25.2 crore price tag attached to him, dismissed the tournament’s costliest cricketer ever, Rishabh Pant, on just his second delivery in IPL 2026.
Green didn’t bowl in Kolkata Knight Riders’ first two IPL 2026 games, against the Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, both defeats, while their third game against Punjab Kings was washed out in the fourth over.
Cricket Australia had advised KKR that Green would start the tournament 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,” Cricket Australia said.
Green has thus begun bowling 10 days into the statement and will be a major boost to KKR’s fragile bowling lineup.
Green not bowling has disrupted Kolkata Knight Riders’ plans, with multiple frontline bowlers unavailable. Mustafizur Rahman was withdrawn by BCCI before the tournament, while Harshit Rana and Akash Deep were sidelined because of injuries.
Sunil Narine missed KKR’s previous game with illness and Varun Chakravarthy remains out with a hand injury.
“Cameron Green in his first over of the IPL:- Concedes a SIX- Takes a wicket- Bowls a wide- Bowls a no-ball, A proper “everything happened” kind of over 😅,” a user tweeted on Thursday night.
Cameron Green in his first over of the IPL:
– Concedes a SIX
– Takes a wicket
– Bowls a wide
– Bowls a no-ballA proper “everything happened” kind of over 😅 pic.twitter.com/cdClPeReDM
— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952) April 9, 2026
Cameron Green the bowler has arrived in IPL finaly🔥
Removing Pant as soon as he comes🔥 pic.twitter.com/YMERvgtmtQ— Venky Mama (@venkymama100) April 9, 2026
Meanwhile, Pant was bought for a whopping Rs 27 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
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