Top News

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings (PBKS), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Tim Southee said that all-rounder Cameron Green is set to return to bowling soon.

Add Asianet Newsable as a Preferred Source

KKR, left reeling after two poor performances, will be aiming to secure its first win of the season against the 2025 runners-up at Eden Gardens. The absence of Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana has left a massive hole in the team's bowling attack. To make matters worse, Green, the franchise's Rs 25.20 crores buy, has not been bowling. Towards march-end, Cricket Australia (CA) had issued a statement about Green suffering a lower-back injury and the all-rounder "returning to bowling within 10-12 days". Before the match, Green was seen bowling full throttle in the nets, aiming to build on his bowling workload.

Southee on Green's return to bowling

On if Green would bowl in the coming matches, Southee said during the pre-match presser, "Green has been bowling well, tracking obviously his rehab and getting himself back to being able to bowl in games. He'll continue to do that. We are in regular contact with Australian Cricket, and I am sure we will see Green bowling soon."

With these two losses, a paper-thin bowling attack of uncapped Indians, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, and Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani has been left exposed, leaking way too many runs. The matters have been made worse by spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine not being at their best either.

Coach backs inexperienced pace unit

On the performances of the pace unit, Southee expressed faith and excitement about the pace attack and their skillset, pointing out that some glimpses of it were seen in the first two games but there needs to be consistency. "It is certainly a long tournament. Two games in. I guess with the setbacks with the bowlers that we have been unable to have, it presents opportunities for other guys, and I think we are still excited about the bowling group we got. Yeah, they are inexperienced, but they have got a tremendous amount of skills," said the former New Zealander.

"We have seen it in glimpses in the first two games but it is our job to try and get a little bit more consistency out of those guys but certainly been impressed with the skill they have on offer at training and although the first two games have gone to plan, I am sure they will show how skilful and how good they can be at this level throughout the tournament," he added.

On Kartik Tyagi

On Kartik Tyagi, who has taken two wickets in two matches, but leaked runs at an economy rate of 11.37, he said, "He has great pace and a range of skills, so we are trying to get the best out of him. He has prepared well for the tournament and hopefully it is a big tournament for him," he added.

On Vaibhav Arora

Speaking about Himachal Pradesh pacer Vaibhav Arora, who has taken the role of the Indian pace spearhead in the side in the absence of Harshit and taken three wickets while leaking runs at an economy rate of 12.37, Southee said, "He did well for us last year and was able to take those early wickets with his ability to swing the ball."

"He is just trying to get the best out of all the bowlers. They are not the most experienced bowlers going around, but like I said earlier, they have an unbelievable amount of talent so it is just about how we get that talent out and let them be able to play and show the world what they have got," he signed off. (ANI)