It was not a great day for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who have lost their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season opener against Mumbai Indians (MI). KKR ride on superb half-centuries from Ajinkya Rahane (67) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51) to put up 220 on the board, but MI pulled things back in the end to restrict the opposition to a par score.
Playing his first game for KKR, IPL’s most expensive player Cameron Green scored 18 off just 10 deliveries, showing aggressive intent throughout his innings. However, his bowling has been restricted, given the numerous injuries he has had in recent times. At the post-match presentation, when skipper Rahane was asked why the all-rounder had not bowled, he bluntly replied, “That’s the question you need to ask Cricket Australia.”
“I think when Green starts to bowl soon, the combination will be slightly different. At the moment, we have to see the balance, guys who can bowl well for us, batting-wise, we batted really well, but finding that balance with the ball is really important. So hopefully, Green starts to bowl soon,” he said.
Rahane’s reply indicates that Cricket Australia have requested KKR to perhaps ease him in and not make him go full-throttle right away. Green was bought in the IPL 2026 auction for 25.20 crore.
Rahane walked off the field in the middle of the chase and confirmed that he had cramps in both his calves. With him out of the field, Rinku Singh took charge of the team.
“Feeling okay, just a lot of cramps in my calf and both calves actually. So hopefully I’ll be okay. I mean, just a lot of cramps,” Rahane said.
After this disappointing loss, KKR will look to get off the mark in IPL 2026 in their next game, which will be against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Eden Gardens, on April 2 (Thursday).
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