Ajinkya Rahane Blames Cricket Australia After KKR's Crushing Defeat Vs MI In IPL 2026

Ajinkya Rahane starts blame game after KKR's loss [Source: AFP]

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane ended up on the losing side after MI beat them by 6 wickets in the second fixture of IPL 2026. However, in a post-match interview, Rahane ended up pinning the blame for the loss on Cricket Australia.

Batting first, the Knight Riders put up a fabulous show to post 220 runs on the board. Rahane led the charge with 67 runs while Angkrish added 51 runs off just 29 balls.

Ajinkya Rahane gives a reality check to Cameron Green, CA

However, the chase turned out to be a cakewalk for MI. Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton knitted a 148-run opening partnership. Despite a couple of hiccups, Mumbai chased down the target in 19.1 overs to seal a comfortable victory.

Meanwhile, in a post-match interview, losing captain Ajinkya Rahane made an interesting statement. When asked why Cameron Green didn’t bowl a single over, Rahane pinned the blame on the Australian Cricket Board, saying, “That's the question you need to ask to Cricket Australia."

KKR bought Green for a whopping price of INR 25.20 crore. That price was for his all-round skills. However, as Ajinkya Rahane suggested, CA has allegedly discouraged Cameron from bowling due to workload issues.

Cameron Green is a highly injury-prone player who hasn’t bowled a lot since his back surgery. Now, Rahane’s statement suggests that he won’t be able to bowl at least in the first chase of IPL 2026.

Also Read - Explained: Why Did Ajinkya Rahane Walk Off Mid-Match During MI vs KKR Clash?

Cameron Green’s auction fumble

Interestingly, during the IPL 2026 auction, Cameron Green was incorrectly listed as a “batter” instead of an all-rounder. This happened because his manager accidentally selected the wrong category while submitting his registration.

Green later clarified that he was fully fit to bowl, and the listing error didn’t reflect his true role.

However, now that Cameron Green isn’t allowed to bowl, the question once again arises whether KKR were blindsided because they spent a significant amount on the all-rounder.

For now, neither Ajinkya Rahane nor KKR have released an official statement as to when Green will be fit to bowl in the IPL 2026 season.

MI humble KKR at Wankhede

Meanwhile, KKR lost their IPL 2026 opening game to MI by 6 wickets. The huge total of 220 runs was not enough as MI openers Ryan Rickelton (81) and Rohit Sharma (78) took the game away.

KKR definitely felt the void of fast bowlers like Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana, who were unavailable due to injuries. Vaibhav Arora went for 52 runs while Blessing Muzarabani conceded 34 runs in 3 overs.

Amid such scarcity of fast bowlers, the void of Cameron Green as a bowler was widely felt by KKR. Nevertheless, KKR will look to bounce back from this disappointing loss, as they’ll meet SRH next on April 2.

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