Cameron Green becomes IPL’s third-most expensive buy — analysing the all-round value and balance he brings to KKR’s squad.
Cameron Green was the talk of the town heading into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction. Due to the inability of India’s pace all-rounders, the eyes always remain on the overseas player for that department. Green can offer at least three overs with the ball, besides providing them with batting in the middle order.
Meanwhile, Kolkata will head into the IPL 2026 without their long-time servant Andre Russell, leaving a massive void in the middle order. That absence forced them to seek a marquee replacement, and when Cameron Green’s name came into the auction, the IPL 2024 champions hardly wasted any time in raising the paddle.
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KKR face extreme bidding war with CSK for Cameron Green
Despite operating with the smallest purse, the Mumbai Indians (MI) opened the bidding for Green at INR 2 crore before being outbid by the Knight Riders. It was surprising to see the Rajasthan Royals (RR), despite not having a sizeable budget, stay in the race for the Australia all-rounder until the price touched INR 13.40 crore.
However, once RR bowed out, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) entered the fray to loud applause in the auction room. From there on, neither side showed inclination to slow down, with the bidding rapidly escalating past the INR 20 crore mark – underlining how central Green is to their plans for the upcoming season.
As the bidding crossed the INR 22 crore mark, Chennai asked for a brief pause before eventually stepping out at INR 25 crore. Kolkata, however, raised the paddle one final time at INR 25.20 crore, successfully securing the right-handed batter.
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Why Cameron Green fits perfectly into KKR’s IPL 2026 blueprint
Green has notched up 707 runs across 28 IPL innings. During his maiden season in 2023 with the Mumbai Indians, the Western Australia all-rounder scored 452 runs in 16 innings at an impressive average of 50.22. His strike rate was over 160, registered two half-centuries and also recorded a career-best unbeaten 100 off just 47 balls.
However, the story was different in 2024 when he featured for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He bagged 255 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 143.25 with no fifties to his name. Meanwhile, with the ball, he picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 8.61.
Kolkata’s main reason for signing Green was to offset Andre Russell’s absence from the squad. Moreover, being a youngster, Green comes as a long-term investment, with the potential to evolve into a future star for the franchise. Green’s versatility with the bat – capable of slotting in at any position across the order – adds further value, giving the team greater tactical flexibility.
Knight Riders’ home ground, the Eden Gardens, isn’t a massive ground, which will see the ball flying around the park. Subsequently, Green is an all-format player for Australia, which means he knows how to deal with various situations in the game. There will be times when Kolkata will perhaps lose three wickets inside the power play. And Green can still come and recover them to a good score.
Green’s hitting ability is equally exceptional. He is certainly a better option than Venkatesh Iyer, who could only bat among the top four and wasn’t regular with the ball.
Post the all-rounder, the Knight Riders signed the Sri Lankan pacer, Matheesha Pathirana, for a massive price of INR 18 crore. They also hired the services of New Zealand wicket-keeper Finn Allen for the base price of INR 2 crore. Allen can be a great option in the opening spot with Ajinkya Rahane.
Kolkata hope to develop their performance from last year’s struggle when they finished in the eighth position with five wins in 14 clashes.
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