Right before the T20 World Cup last year, Australia, the then defending champions, traveled to India for a quick bilateral T20I series. The three matches were part of their preparations for the marquee event that Australia would host in October-November.
With nothing riding on the series, Australia conducted an experiment. They asked their young allrounder Cameron Green to open innings alongside Aaron Finch.
Green aced the test.
Not only did Green, hyped as the next big thing in Australian cricket, introduce himself to the Indian crowd with a couple of blistering half-centuries, he also left the national selectors wondering if by not including the lanky allrounder in their T20 World Cup squad they have committed a mistake.
It’s another matter that Green did make the cut later on as an injury replacement.
Those two innings in Mohali (61 off 30) and Hyderabad (52 off 21) gave the Australian team management an indication on how to go about building a team for the future and where the precious talent of Green could best be utilised.
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Those two fifties also served as his unofficial auditions for IPL auction later that year. And it seemed the scouts were mighty impressed.
So much so that Mumbai Indians splashed an eye-popping Rs 17.5 crore to secure his signature and thus made him the second costliest player in the league’s history.
After the giddiness of last year, 2023 will the year when Green would perhaps want to justify all the hype and dollars that have come his way. And IPL 2023 is the first challenge where he would want to polish his reputation.
Life in IPL though isn’t off to a bright start for the Australian though. Both his and MI’s initial two matches of the ongoing season have been forgettable.
It’s way too early to pass any judgement on Green’s performance who has scored 17 runs from two innings and has one wicket from five overs.
Green has batted at the No. 3 spot for MI and with their opening slot more or less sorted, it’s unlikely the 23-year-old will be asked to replace either Rohit Sharma or Ishan Kishan at the top.
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But wouldn’t he like to open considering the success he had on Indian pitches last year when batting from the spot?
Green would be open to but he’s happy with the no.3 spot.
“I’m absolutely happy to bat wherever the coach wants me to,” Green responded to a CricketNext query during a media interaction in Delhi on Monday evening.
“I am absolutely happy to bat at three – you actually feel like an opener anyway. You have the same intent than probably when opening the bat and when coming at no. 3. So absolutely no stress with batting wherever,” he added.
MI haven’t bet big on Green’s batting prowess alone. They will be hoping him to make an impact with his right-arm pace bowling as well.
However, on Indian pitches, he may have his work cut out.
“Bowling from Australia to India is completely different, you are playing on different wickets. The boundaries are different, the ball does different things off the wicket. So trying to learn things over here,” said Green.
Green is making the most of his time in the IPL and has also picked the brains of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar during a training session.
“Obviously whenever Sachin talks you listen,” Green told reporters. “He was talking about may be in red ball cricket the bat is slightly closed face to keep balls on ground but in white ball potentially opening up the face of the bat helps you to access balls on the off side and may be the trajectory as well. So that was the talk.”
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For Green, and for Australia, 2023 is dotted with major events. After his stint with MI, he will link up with the Test squad for the World Test Championship Final before the Ashes series. And then there’s the small matter of the ODI World Cup.
Will his body be able to cope up with the stress?
“There is no load management for me,” Green responds. “It is pretty clear for me the whole tournament. Just have to bowl four overs and we get rest days in between.”
“It is a big year. The first step is accepting that and secondly around the Australian team you get energy from people you know, over here there is new energy with new friends I have made,” he added.
Has he ever felt the pressure of million-dollar price tag?
A confident Green replied, “No pressure at all.”
He continued, “The conversations I have had with the support staff and people higher up, I don’t feel that at all. Thee have told me to enjoy my cricket and enjoy my experience of the IPL since it is my first time. Will take bit of time to adjust but no pressure.”
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