Is Cameron Green Under Pressure Of Rs 25.20 Crore Price Tag? KKR Coach Shane Watson Answers
Cameron Green, who has played for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the past, was picked up by KKR for a whopping Rs 25.20 crore in the mini auction.
Cameron Green won't be weighed down by his high price tag, says Kolkata Knight Riders coach Shane Watson, noting that the Australian all-rounder prefers to play with absolute freedom. Green, who has played for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the past, was picked up by KKR for a whopping Rs 25.20 crore in the mini auction. "I've seen players in the past who've had a high price tag on them. I've seen them crumble in the past, that wave of expectations really suffocated their ability to perform at their best," Watson told reporters ahead of KKR's training here at the Wankhede Stadium.
"Cameron certainly doesn't see it that way. We've seen with him when he got picked up to play here at MI a couple of years ago for a pretty decent amount of money, he had a very good season." Watson credited Green for having a strong mindset to keep the focus on his game.
"That is his mindset when it comes to the IPL, that he's got nothing to lose," he said.
"Obviously, that's what people are willing to pay for him, but he's there to be as free as he can, be at his very best, and we've seen how that has been very beneficial for his performances in the IPL over the last couple of seasons."
"If you've seen the way he's trained over the last couple of weeks, I don't think in any way that his performance will be suffocated by that price tag, because he's very free and excited about being able to be free in the middle as well." Watson said KKR top-order batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi is ready to chip in as a wicketkeeper given that the franchise has only a couple of specialist 'keeper-batter options.
"Yes, he is. Raghuvanshi has been working tirelessly on his wicketkeeping for the last five or six months. We've got Dishant Yagnik, who's as good a fielding and wicket-keeping coach there is in the world, not just in India. He's been working tirelessly with Angkrish," Watson said.
"He's (Raghuvanshi) certainly skilled, and we have seen him in the practice matches as well. His skill is certainly up to speed in dealing with what the IPL bowlers and KKR bowlers are going to throw at him. It means that we've got a number of options that we can go to, depending on the makeup of our team," Watson said.
Being thin on fast bowling resources, Watson admitted KKR are "doing everything" they can to get Matheesha Pathirana to their camp.
"It's a waiting game at the moment and we're being guided by the Sri Lankan cricket board. We are just doing everything we can to get him over here, really, as soon as possible," Watson said.
"With the calibre of support staff and medical staff that we've got here at KKR, we've got the exact same interests as Sri Lankan cricket as well. We want Pathirana to be here. We want him to be fit. We certainly would never, ever push him any earlier than he needs to.
"We just hope that sooner rather than later he's able to come over here and we can really start the integration process." Watson said the current situation with fast bowling attack also brings a lot of attention on Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, who was drafted into the side a few days before the tournament.
"Life's all about opportunities and to be able to see someone like Blessing Muzarabani, to get the opportunity that he's been working so hard towards with his exploits on the field," Watson said.
"For a tall guy, he's a great athlete. He's got great skills and for there to be an opportunity for him to be able to put it on the world stage, to be able to test it against the best batters in the world, I'm so excited for him," he said.
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Kolkata Knight Riders