The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the three time champion got Cameron Green in the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘TATA IPL Auction Review’, JioStar experts Anil Kumble and Robin Uthappa,
along with Kolkata Knight Riders Head Coach Abhishek Nayar, broke down KKR’s auction strategy, key acquisitions and the thinking behind investing in Cameron Green.
Anil Kumble analyzed how Kolkata Knight Riders strengthened their squad in the auction:
"KKR have done really well. Getting Rachin Ravindra at base price was smart. He is a quality player. He did not have a great season with CSK, but KKR is trying to replicate their winning season from a few years ago. They have Tim Seifert or Finn Allen to open the innings and keep wickets. Cameron Green will take the place of Andre Russell in the team. Russell was a master finisher, while Green prefers batting in the top three, but they will make it work. All in all, the squad of KKR is looking really solid and they have serious batting power in their squad."
Robin Uthappa outlined the challenges facing Matheesha Pathirana as he looks to regain his form:
"Pathirana needs something special. His form has been poor for 12 to 18 months, and he's working to get back to his best before the World Cup. Injury and a change in action have affected him, like we've seen with other fast bowlers. But we know his potential. His unique strength was his old, more side-on action. If he can return to that, he'll be more effective. It will take a lot of work on his biomechanics. I heard he's been working with Lasith Malinga recently, which is great for him and KKR. Bowling at Eden Gardens is very tough for fast bowlers."
Kolkata Knight Riders' Head Coach Abhishek Nayar explained the team's pursuit of Cameron Green:
"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."
On KKR's plans for Cameron Green:
"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. 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."
On the attempt to re-sign Venkatesh Iyer:
"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. 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."
