Former Indian cricketer Sumbramaniam Badrinath has expressed his lack of faith in Kolkata Knight Riders’ big-money purchase of star Cameron Green. The Australian all-rounder was signed for a whopping INR 25.20 crore in the 2026 IPL Mega Auction, after missing the 2025 season entirely due to injury.

The former Chennai Super Kings batter believes that the signing was a poor decision from the Knight Riders, owing to concerns over Green’s form. He stated that the hype around Australian players in the IPL is the reason Green was procured for a substantial fee.

"You've signed him for 25 crores, and he is woefully out of form. He struggled massively for Australia in the T20 World Cup. Cameron Green went for so much purely because of the hype. He is not worth that much. Has he single-handedly done anything in the IPL? Australian players always get hyped up, and he benefited from that. I believe it was a bad move by KKR," Badrinath said, speaking on his YouTube channel.

This will be Green’s third stint in the IPL. His scored 452 runs in 16 games at a strike rate of 160.28 in his debut season, playing a key role in Mumbai Indians’ road to the playoffs.

He also scored a brilliant unbeaten century in the last league game of the season, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. His next season, with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru saw his numbers wane, as he managed just 255 runs in 13 games, striking at 143.26.

Rahane's captaincy a 'weak link'

Badrinath also spoke of Ajinkya Rahane being one of the team’s weak links and KKR’s big investments like Harshit Rana, Mustafizur Rahman and Matheesha Pathirana being ruled out of the IPL.

"Ajinkya Rahane is definitely a weakness.

His captaincy itself is a weak link. All their big investments have gone wrong. They trusted Harshit Rana and invested in him, but he is ruled out. Pathirana was a huge signing, and now he's doubtful. Mustafizur was another big investment, and he is ruled out. They've taken many costly decisions, as there is uncertainty over most of their big investments," Badrinath said.

Kolkata Knight Riders start their campaign away at the Wankhede Stadium, against the Mumbai Indians on March 29.

Kolkata Knight Riders start their campaign away at the Wankhede Stadium, against the Mumbai Indians on March 29.