Mumbai: Over the years, IPL has seen various top buyers come under pressure with hefty price tags. In 2014, this was Yuvraj Singhwas acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 14 crore, while in 2025, it was Ritha Pantbought by Lucknow Supergiants for Rs 27 crore, both companies seemed to be overwhelmed by the huge auction price. There are many others. In this case, there are real fears that the latest addition to the list could be an Australian all-rounder Cameron GreenKolkata Knight Riders bought him for a whopping Rs 252 million during the IPL mini-auction in November last year. However, before his team’s first match against IPL-2026 mumbai indians At the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night, KKR assistant coach and former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson asserted that Green would not be weighed down by his high price tag, noting that the Australian all-rounder prefers to play with absolute freedom. “I have seen some players in the past who have been given a high price tag. I have also seen them break down in the past; that expectation has really stifled their ability to perform at their best,” Watson told reporters ahead of KKR’s training session at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Watson reminded that Green was acquired by Mumbai Indians and later traded to RCB at a high price. His performance in the past was pretty good. “Cameron certainly doesn’t think so. When he was drafted to play in MI a few years ago for a respectable fee (Green made his IPL debut in 2023 when MI bought him for Rs 17.5 crore), we have seen him have a very good season (he scored 452 runs at a strike rate of 160.28 and took 6 wickets). That’s his mentality in the IPL – he has nothing to lose,” Watson said. “Obviously, that’s the price people are willing to pay for him, but he’s there to be as free as possible, to be at his best and we’ve seen that serve him very well in the IPL over the past few seasons. If you’ve seen the way he’s trained over the last few weeks, I don’t think his performance will be dampened by that price because he’s very free and excited about being able to get that freedom in midfield,” he explained. Watson said joining KKR was “very exciting” for him, especially because of the opportunity to work closely with Green. “There are a lot of exciting things about coming to KKR. The biggest one is with Cameron Green. I’ve had a few conversations with him over the years, but being able to help him on his journey and support his growth is something I’m really excited about,” Watson said. With pacers Harshit Rana and Akash Deep ruled out of IPL-2026 due to injuries, Watson admitted that KKR are “making every effort” to have Matheesha Pathirana join them in the training camp. “It is a waiting game at the moment and we are taking guidance from the Sri Lanka Cricket Board. We are doing everything we can to get him here as soon as possible. With the caliber of KKR’s support staff and medical staff, we also have exactly the same interest as Sri Lanka Cricket. We wish Patialana was here. We wish him good health. We certainly would never push him sooner than he needs to. “We just hope he gets here sooner rather than later and we can really start the integration process,” Watson said. Watson was all praises for Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, who was selected into the squad a few days before the match, and said KKR expected him to capitalize on the opportunity and deliver results. “Life is full of opportunities and it’s great to see a guy like Blessed Muzarabani get the opportunity he’s been working so hard for on the court. For a tall guy, he’s a great athlete. He’s got great skills and he’s got the opportunity to get on the world stage and test himself against the best batsmen in the world and I’m really excited for him,” Watson said. Watson revealed that KKR’s young top-order batsman, Mumbai’s Angkrish Raghuvanshi, has been working hard to get ready to don the wicketkeeping gloves. “Raguvansh has been working tirelessly to keep the wicket for the last five or six months.”
