Cameron Green of Kolkata Knight Riders plays a shot during Match 2 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2026 between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India, on March 29, 2026. (CREIMAS for IPL)Kolkata Knight Riders’ high-profile acquisition Cameron Green has resumed bowling in the nets and is “not far away” from doing so in an IPL match, bowling coach Tim Southee said on Sunday.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEOThe Australian all-format all-rounder, IPL’s costliest overseas buy at Rs 25.20-crore, has not bowled so far in the season as Cricket Australia monitors his workload post his back surgery.“Yeah, Green’s been bowling well, tracking his rehab and getting himself back to being able to bowl in games. He’ll continue to do that,” Southee said ahead of KKR’s clash against Punjab Kings.However, it is unlikely that Green will bowl against PBKS on Monday, even though he was seen going full throttle at a practice session on Saturday.Sunday’s match-day minus one training was washed out at Eden Gardens, with most regulars staying away, while a few domestic recruits, including Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rahul Tripathi, trained indoors.KKR’s inexperienced pace attack — in the absence of Mustafizur Rahman, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Matheesha Pathirana for various reasons — has been a major talking point early in the season.The issue has been compounded by Green’s inability to bowl, which became a talking point after KKR failed to defend 220 in their opening match loss to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede.Story continues below this adResponding to a broadcaster’s query on Green not bowling, skipper Ajinkya Rahane had quipped, “Ask Cricket Australia,” prompting their board to clarify that KKR were “fully aware” of his recovery timeline and workload management plan.Southee said the franchise remains in constant touch with the Australian board.“We’re in regular contact with Cricket Australia and I’m sure we’ll see Cameron bowling soon. I’m sure he’s not far away from bowling in a match.” KKR have lost both their matches so far, including a crushing 65-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad to start the opening leg in their previous outing here on April 2.Their inexperienced pace attack remains a work in progress. Mustafizur’s replacement Blessing Muzarabani impressed with figures of 4/41, while youngsters Vaibhav Arora and Kartik Tyagi have also shown promise with timely breakthroughs, but the seasoned spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy are yet to make an impact.Story continues below this ad“It’s certainly a long tournament, two games in. With the setbacks with the bowlers we’ve been unable to have, it presents opportunities for other guys. We’re still excited about the bowling group we’ve got,” Southee said.“They’re inexperienced but they’ve got a tremendous amount of skill. We’ve seen it in glimpses in the first two games. It’s our job to get a little bit more consistency out of them.” “Although the first two games haven’t gone to plan, I’m sure they will show how skilful and how good they can be at this level throughout the tournament.” Southee stressed the need for early wickets, especially in the power play.“It’s always hard when you’re not taking wickets, particularly in the powerplay. Taking wickets early stems the run flow and makes things easier. We haven’t quite managed to do that so far, but we’ll plan accordingly and hopefully take those early wickets.” Team selection has also come under scrutiny, with players such as Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra and Rovman Powell yet to feature.But Southee said finding the right combination is never straightforward.Story continues below this ad“I think you look at all the squads, there’s so many good players to choose from. There are discussions around what side best matches up against the opposition and conditions,” Southee said.“There’s so much talent that it’s hard to get the perfect equilibrium. But it’s the side we thought was best for the first two games. We’ll plan for what we’re going to come up against and pick the team that gives us the best chance.”