At 24, Cameron Green has already tasted the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup success for Australia last year. Since his international debut in late 2020, the seamer all-rounder has gradually improved as a cricketer which secured him his maiden IPL deal at a fairly handsome price of Rs 17.5 crore when Mumbai Indians roped him in ahead of the 2023 edition.
Green’s debut season began under Rohit Sharma’s leadership before he moved to Royal Challengers Bengaluru for this year’s IPL to have Virat Kohli as his teammate.
“They (Rohit and Kohli) are both greats of the game. Every time I think about it, I’m still pinching myself that I’ve been lucky enough to play with two of the greats of world cricket,” Green said during a virtual news conference facilitated by RCB on Saturday.
No wonder Green believes he can become an even better cricketer with the time spent alongside the ‘Big Two’ of Team India. “They’re both equally happy to help the team win matches. They’re both equally happy to give you a lot of their time, to give you information on the other team and their own experiences, what has worked for them and what hasn’t,” Green stated.
Green is also trying to pick up a thing or two while watching Kohli bat during the games as well as at the nets. “Sometimes he taps the bat and sometimes he keeps
the bat up when he goes
to play a shot.
“It’s pretty interesting with the things that he comes up with. Obviously, he has worked it out himself as to what works for him. When he wants to hit the ball really far, he taps the bat to generate more bat speed.
“So yeah, that’s one thing, but I don’t really want to give away his secrets, though he’s good enough to make sure it won’t affect his game,” Green explained.
Although RCB lost to Kolkata Knight Riders at home on Friday, batting along with Kohli seems to be another learning for Green, who feels he has impressed the former captain while tackling the opposition spinners during their 65-run stand for the second wicket. Green scored 33 off 21 balls against KKR.
“We had a discussion before the game about a different way against Sunil Narine and the other (KKR) spinners. I think I had certain shots for which he was quite happy about,” Green said.
Special diet
While playing, Green also has to battle an irreversible chronic kidney disease which forces him to follow a special diet and routine in order to continue with cricket. RCB’s executive chef Manoj Sharma is helping him with that.
“With my condition, I’ve to look after my salt and protein. I’ve got to keep that to a minimum around cricket and then during cricket, I can slightly increase my salt volumes because I need it to play.
“Here at RCB, I’m having meals that are suited for me with just enough protein, which obviously allows me to play cricket while also not affecting me,” he said.
