Former Australian captain Aaron Finch has come out with vocal criticism of Cameron Green after his poor start to the season in the 2026 IPL.
Green was signed for a whopping INR 25.20 crores by the Kolkata Knight Riders, the most expensive overseas player in IPL history. He is yet to live up to the tag, with scores of 18, 4 and 2 in the Knight Riders’ three games so far, coming in at number 3.
Finch stated that Green has missed out this season, and, using his first season in the IPL with the Mumbai Indians as a reference point. In 2023, Green was a revelation for the five-time champions, scoring 452 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 160.28. The season also saw him score his first IPL century, batting at No. 3. Finch believes that Green has a different intent now and looks more tentative on the crease.
“One of those dismissals has been a run out, not a part of his fault. Still, he’s missed out twice. There’s a bit of panic, he’s not looking the same as the past. Remember when he was at the top of the order for MI – how he had totally different intent. He was imposing at the crease. Now he looks tentative. Don’t push him down. Push him either up the order, or give him a rest,” Finch said, speaking on ESPNCricinfo’s TimeOut show
‘It makes absolutely no sense’ – Finch on Rahane’s toss decision
Finch, who has represented KKR in 2022, alongside a host of other franchises, was critical of captain Ajinkya Rahane’s decision to bat first on a Kolkata wicket that had seen substantial rain and conditions favouring fast-bowlers, against the Punjab Kings. The game was eventually abandoned due to the oncoming rain, with Kolkata finding themselves at 25/2 in 3.4 overs at the close.
“Winning the toss and electing to bat after the wicket’s been under the covers for a day – you know there’s been rain in the air – it makes absolutely no sense. That’s an alarm bell for me. It’s not that they’re two down for 25. It’s the fact that ‘we shouldn’t be batting’. You’re making the wrong decision even when you’ve got all the information.
“There’s cloud cover around. You’re expecting rain. They had three hours of rain. Obviously, somebody has told them at some point – ‘it might rain later’ – you might need to chase later. DLS [calculations in truncated games] works better for the team batting second a little better. You’ve got all that information, so I don’t understand how you get to the decision you’ll bat first,” Finch added.
Kolkata Knight Riders are winless in the three games they have played. They host the Lucknow Super Giants on April 9 at the Eden Gardens and will be hoping to get their campaign on track with a win.