KKR sweat on combination as team tries to find a spot for Rs 25.20 crore Cameron Green
India Today
IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders' biggest challenge in the IPL 2026 is to figure out what their batting order is going to look like. KKR have an abundance of opening options in their batting line-up and will need to figure out who to fit down the order.
With a host of openers in their squad, Kolkata Knight Riders are yet to finalise their batting order, assistant coach Shane Watson revealed in the team’s pre-tournament press conference on Friday, March 20.
Responding to a question from India Today on the role of Cameron Green, who KKR signed for Rs 25.20 crore, Watson said the franchise is blessed with world-class batting talent, making team combinations the biggest challenge this season.
KKR have an abundance of openers in their squad. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are specialist openers, while players like Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine have also opened in T20 cricket. This leaves Green, KKR’s most expensive signing, in a bit of a dilemma, as he too prefers a top-order role.
“The beauty of this Kolkata Knight Riders squad is the number of incredible, world-class batting options we have. It’s an embarrassment of riches in terms of the calibre of players and figuring out where they all fit in. That’s going to be the ultimate challenge for the leaders of this organisation - to get those combinations right from game one and make adjustments as the tournament progresses,” Watson said at Eden Gardens, a press conference facilitated by JioStar.
“Obviously, with Cameron Green, the quality of cricketer he is as an all-rounder means that wherever he gets an opportunity, he is going to make the most of it. We’ve got some seriously powerful, world-class players, along with a blend of experience and youthful energy. It’s exciting to see how that plays out over the course of the tournament,” he added.
Kolkata Knight Riders Pre Season Press Conference | Knight LIVE | KKR 2026 https://t.co/QMi1DoLmmn— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 20, 2026
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