Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The focus ahead of the IPL 2026 clash between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has been on whether Cameron Green will return to bowling. During the warm-up ahead of the match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, the all-rounder was seen bowling in the nets, raising hopes that he might soon resume full duties after missing out with the ball in earlier matches.KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane made it clear that Green’s bowling is key to improving the team combination.
“When he (Green) is allowed to bowl, we will see him, the combination gets better, so Rovman Powell plays, when Cam Green bowls then we have an extra bowler,” he said at the toss after being asked to bat first. He also confirmed a lineup change, adding, “Just one change – Sunil (Narine) comes in place of Blessing, Varun is still recovering from his hand injury.”Talking about batting approach, Rahane said, “We just want to, as a batting unit, watch the ball and react, rather than putting pressure on ourselves, trying to focus on a certain target and then try to achieve that. I think just being in the moment, try to react and watch the ball.”The discussion around Green started after KKR’s loss to Mumbai Indians, where he didn’t bowl and the team struggled to defend a big total. Rahane’s earlier comment, “That question you need to ask Cricket Australia,” added to the confusion and sparked debate about player workload and outside influence.Later, Cricket Australia clarified that there was no sudden restriction. Green has been managing a lower back issue and is gradually working towards bowling again. His recent net session suggests progress, though it’s unclear if he will bowl today against LSG. For such a high-profile player, expectations remain high for both batting and bowling contributions.
KKR vs LSG Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik TyagiKolkata Knight Riders Impact subs – Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Tim SeifertLucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince YadavLucknow Super Giants Impact subs – Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahmad, Mayank Yadav, Himmat Singh
