Green became KKR’s most costly acquisition at ₹25.2 crore, but a directive from Cricket Australia (CA) prevented him from bowling to avoid injury concerns. His lower back is reportedly not in peak condition at the moment.
After posting an unbeaten 32 in Kolkata’s total of 181-4 against Lucknow Super Giants, the sight of Green warming up brought cheers from the sparse crowd at Eden Gardens.
Given the ball in the ninth over, he dismissed Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant with his second delivery, but the over cost 12 runs, and he was subsequently removed from the attack.
The 26-year-old rejoined for the second-to-last over with Lucknow needing 30 runs off 12 balls but conceded 16 runs to Mukul Choudhary, who ended the match with an impressive 54 not out off 27 balls.
Lucknow clinched victory with the final ball, leaving two-time champions Kolkata winless after four matches, with their only point coming from a washout against Punjab Kings.
Kolkata batter Rovman Powell remained hopeful.
“If you look at IPL history, the teams that succeed are those who find their peak in the middle and later stages,” the West Indian told reporters following their three-wicket loss.
“It’s challenging not to start well, but our fate is still in our control. We have games ahead.”
“If we continue to put in the effort, results will follow. Sometimes the outcome isn’t everything – tonight was a competitive match, but we just ended up on the losing end. Wins will come if we keep focusing on doing the right things.”
Kolkata sits ninth in the 10-team IPL, ranked just above Chennai Super Kings based on net run rate.
Green has previously played for the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He was acquired by MI prior to IPL 2023 but later traded to RCB to accommodate Hardik Pandya. Green has yet to validate KKR’s investment in him. KKR’s next match is against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at their home ground on April 14.
(With Reuters inputs)
First Published: Apr 10, 2026 8:44 PM IST
