Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Abhishek Nayar has clarified that all-rounder Cameron Green was selected as a player who would be with the franchise in the long term. Abhishek's comments come at a time when Green's role within the team has been restricted to that of a batter.
Cameron Green is currently managing a lower back injury, and because of this, Cricket Australia (CA) is managing his workload and expects him to resume bowling only after 10-12 days. Ahead of Kolkata Knight Riders' game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday, Green, though, was seen bowling at the nets.
Abhishek Nayar explains KKR's acquisition of Cameron Green
“I think, see, the idea of picking a player in an auction is not always very short-sighted. There is always a horizon,” Abhishek Nayar said during a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“You look at what a player has done over a number of years and the skill set he possesses. This sport is interesting in that way that a lot of times you pick a player with certain prowess, and sometimes they may even perform the skill you are talking about and not perform,” the former assistant coach of the Indian team added.
"But for us, Cameron Green, the cricketer and the all-rounder, was really important. You take a lot of things into consideration at times, whether there is an injury or fitness updates. But eventually, I think, when the auction happens and the tournament happens, it's not immediate.
"So whatever decision you make, you don't know what the future lies and what the future holds," he explained, before adding that there are some things which are unfortunate.
“So in that aspect, we as a franchise always invest in the player and what the player at his best can bring to our table, and we know what Cameron can do. There are things that sometimes are very unfortunate,” elaborated the former Mumbai cricketer.
In Kolkata Knight Riders' opening match of the season against Mumbai Indians (MI), which they lost, Green scored 18 runs from 10 balls at No. 3.
The last time the 26-year-old bowled was during Australia's T20 World Cup matches against Zimbabwe and Oman. He picked up a wicket against Zimbabwe, but failed to do so against Oman.
Like Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad are also coming into Thursday's match on the back of a loss, after they suffered a six-wicket defeat to defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the opening match of the season on 28 March.
