Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has had a very difficult start to the IPL 2026 and have now lost both of their opening two matches. After losing their first two games against Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad questions are starting to be raised over the team selection and now, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has made a bold claim asking KKR to bench Cameron Green if he is just going to bat in the XI.

 

KKR signed the Australian at a cost of 25 crores in the auction, with the team hoping to get an all-rounder from their prized possession. However, due to a lower back injury Cricket Australia have restricted him from bowling, and with him only batting at number three in both of KKR's two games where he returned scores of 18 and 2, it has not had any positive impact on the team so far.

 

Harbhajan Questions Cameron Green's Role in the KKR

 

Harbhajan has stated that Cameron Green does not deserve a place in the KKR line-up if he is not able to contribute with the ball. He then goes on to state that the team have much better batting options available.

 

On his YouTube channel, Harbhajan highlighted:

 

“I feel that Cameron Green doesn’t fit in this team, and the simple reason is that he isn’t bowling. The team should bring in Tim Seifert and have him open the innings, because if Cameron Green isn’t going to bowl, there are better options available purely as a batter. That option is Seifert. Then there’s Rovman Powell, who could also be played."

 

The former India spinner has suggested using New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Tim Seifert as the opening partner for either McCullum or Gill. Harbhajan then also proposed the idea of playing Rovman Powell in the team due to his aggressive nature of play.

 

Also Read | 'I Can Come Anywhere to Meet You': Ayush Mhatre Recalls Surreal Interaction with Rohit Sharma

 

KKR face second consecutive defeat

 

This is not just down to one individual as the whole KKR side have played poorly in both games. The Kolkata Knight Riders were unable to defend 220 against the Mumbai Indians. In the second game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad they leaked runs and lost by 65 runs at Eden Gardens.

 

This is the first time KKR have lost their opening two matches since 2012 and back then they went onto win the title but it doesn't really give KKR a lot of confidence looking at how badly they are playing at the moment.

 

The former India spinner added:

 

“Now suddenly KKR’s team must be feeling the pressure because they have lost both of their first two matches, one at home and one away. If they want to make a comeback from here, they need to fix a few things. First, they have been hit hard in both matches, first by Mumbai and now at home by SRH."

 

KKR's next match is against the Punjab Kings on April 6 th and will be played at Eden Gardens, and after losing two consecutive matches they sit bottom of the table and will need to step up big time if they are to challenge for the IPL title. The management of KKR has some difficult decision to make with whether they continue to back Cameron Green or not.