While Green was observed bowling vigorously during a practice session on Saturday, it is unlikely he will participate in bowling against Punjab Kings on Monday. The training session on Sunday at Eden Gardens was disrupted by rain, leaving many regular players absent; however, a few domestic players, such as Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rahul Tripathi, practiced indoors.

KKR’s relatively inexperienced bowling lineup has been a significant concern early in the season, especially with key players like Mustafizur Rahman, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, and Matheesha Pathirana unavailable for various reasons. This challenge was further highlighted after KKR failed to defend a total of 220 runs in their season opener against the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede.

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane humorously responded to a broadcaster’s inquiry about Green’s bowling situation with, “Ask Cricket Australia,” leading to a clarification from the Australian board that KKR was fully aware of Green’s recovery and workload management.

Southee confirmed that the franchise maintains regular communication with Cricket Australia, expressing optimism about Green’s forthcoming return to bowling in matches. “We are in constant contact with Cricket Australia, and I believe Cameron will be bowling soon,” he remarked. KKR has faced defeats in both of their matches so far, including a disappointing 65-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their most recent outing on April 2.

The team’s bowling unit continues to develop, with Blessing Muzarabani, who replaced Mustafizur, delivering an impressive performance with figures of 4/41. Young bowlers Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi have also contributed with timely breakthroughs. However, the experienced spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy has yet to make a significant impact.

“It’s a long tournament, and we have only played two games. The setbacks with our bowlers present opportunities for others,” Southee noted. “We remain optimistic about our bowling group. They may be inexperienced, but they possess significant skill, which we’ve glimpsed in the first two matches. Our focus is on helping them achieve greater consistency.”

Southee emphasized the importance of securing early wickets, particularly during the power play, stating, “It’s challenging when we fail to take wickets early on. Getting breakthroughs can hinder the opposing team’s scoring and simplify our task. We haven’t achieved that yet, but we will adjust our strategies to aim for those initial wickets.”

The team’s selection choices have also faced scrutiny, with players such as Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, and Rovman Powell yet to play. Southee acknowledged the complexities of forming the right lineup, saying, “Every squad has numerous talented players. There are ongoing discussions about the ideal team composition based on the opposition and conditions.”

“Finding the right balance is challenging, but we selected the lineup we believed was best suited for the first two games. We will strategize based on our upcoming challenges and choose the team that maximizes our chances of success,” he added.

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