Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Cameron Green has resumed bowling in the nets and may return as a bowling option in matches soon, bowling coach Tim Southee said on Sunday.
Green was bought for Rs 25.2 crore and has so far not played in the 2026 IPL as Cricket Australia is still monitoring his workload following back surgery.
KKR had earlier released a video of Green bowling on April 1.
“Yes, Green has been bowling well, keeping track of his recovery and getting himself back to bowling in games. He will continue to do that,” Southee said ahead of KKR’s match against Kings XI Punjab.
However, he is unlikely to bowl in Monday’s match, although he was seen bowling at full strength in Saturday’s practice session.
KKR’s training session at the Eden Gardens on Sunday was affected by rain and most of the senior players did not take part. Some domestic players including Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rahul Tripathi are training indoors.
With the absence of Mustafizur Rahman, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Matheesha Pathirana, the team’s pace attack has been under scrutiny.
The issue of Green’s inability to bowl has also been discussed, especially after KKR failed to defend 220 in their opening loss to Mumbai Indians in the Wankhede.
When asked about Green not bowling, skipper Ajinkya Rahane said, “Ask Cricket Australia” before the board clarified that KKR were aware of his rehabilitation plans.
Southee said the team was in regular contact with Cricket Australia regarding Green’s progress.
“We are in regular contact with Cricket Australia and I believe we will see Cameron bowling very soon. I believe he is not far away from bowling in a match.”
KKR have lost two matches so far, including a 65-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last match on April 2.
Their rhythm offense is still stabilizing. Substitute Blessing Muzarabani took 4/41, while Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi also took wickets at crucial times. Spin bowlers Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy are yet to make an impact.
“It’s certainly a long game, with two games. With the setback of us not being able to get the bowlers, it opens up opportunities for others. We’re still excited about the bowling unit we have,” Southee said.
“They’re inexperienced but they’re skilled. We’ve seen that in the first two games. Our job is to make them more consistent.”
“While the first two games didn’t go as planned, I’m confident they will show their skills and quality at this level throughout the tournament.”
Southee also said that it is important to take wickets early.
“It’s always difficult when you don’t take wickets, especially in the powerplay. Taking wickets early stops the runs and makes things easier. We haven’t quite done that so far, but we will plan accordingly and hopefully take those early wickets.”
He also touched on the issues regarding team selection, with players like Tim Seifert, Lachin Ravindra and Rovman Powell yet to feature.
“I think you look at all the teams and there’s a lot of good players to choose from. There’s a discussion about which team is best suited for the opponent and the conditions,” Southee said.
“There’s so much talent, it’s hard to get the perfect balance. But we think this is the best team in the first two games. We’re going to plan against the opponents we’re going to face and pick the team that gives us the best chance.”
