The Kolkata Knight Riders happened to call the highest bid during the mini auction for IPL 2026, by bagging the Cameron Green for a whopping price of INR 25.20 crores. The IPL 2024 champions went with the strategy of replacing two players, Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell with an out-and-out all-rounder in Cameron Green.
But, spending 39.19 percent money out of the total purse of INR 64.30 crores was a move by KKR that raised a lot of questions. It also came up with another notion that KKR could have invested in the effective players at quite less expensive prices during the mini-auction.
One of the major examples of this happened to be the veteran South Africa batter David Miller, who was sold at his base price INR 2 crores to Delhi Capitals. He would have been a smarter deal for KKR instead of spending 23.20 crores more on Green.
Hence, here’s a dissection of how the 2 crore-Miller would have been an economical move for the Knight Riders instead of 25.20 crore-Green.
The Proteas veteran has been active in the Indian Premier League since 2012 and has featured for four franchises, including the likes of Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Giants, Lucknow Super Giants. In the next edition of the tournament, he will be featuring a new franchise (Delhi Capitals) in his IPL career.
Miller as match-winner in IPL
Criterion
Data
Teams
4
Won Matches
72
Innings
67
Not-Outs
34
Runs
1811
Average
54.87
Strike Rate
148.68
50s
7
100s
1
He has been one of the biggest match-winners for the franchise he has played with. The southpaw has been a part of 72 won matches, and has batted in 67 innings of these appearances. In these 67 innings, Miller has scored 1811 runs with an outstanding batting average of 54.87, hitting a century and seven half-centuries. He also has a brilliant strike rate of 148.68 in the winning cause, including 34 unbeaten appearances.
Green as match-winner in IPL
Criterion
Data
Teams
2
Won Matches
16
Innings
15
Not-Outs
9
Runs
452
Average
75.33
Strike Rate
171.86
50s
1
100s
1
On the other hand, the less experienced Cameron Green has been the part of IPL for just two editions in 2023 and 2024. In this time period, he has been a part of 16 won games, scoring 452 runs in 15 innings with an average of 75.53 and strike rate of 171.86, hitting a century and a half-century.
No doubt, Green has the better numbers than Miller but these have been in a very short sample size of 15 innings, which are way less than the 13-year-long IPL experience of David Miller. So, Miller’s experience would have definitely worked for KKR compared to Green’s shorter IPL career.
The difference between overall pedigree of Miller and Green
Apart from their productivity as a match-winner in the Indian Premier League, there’s also a big difference between the overall match-winning productivity of David Miller and Cameron Green. Miller has a vast international experience of 15 years in the shortest format of the game compared to Aussie all-rounder’s three years in the international circuit.
Miller as match-winner for South Africa
Criterion
Data
Won Matches
76
Innings
64
Not-Outs
30
Runs
1517
Highest
101*
Average
44.61
Strike Rate
144.47
50s
7
100s
1
Miller has been a part of 76 won games for South Africa in his T20I career, scoring 1517 runs in 64 innings, with an amazing average of 44.61, and hitting a century, alongside seven half-centuries in the winning cause. These numbers vouch for the fact that the 36-year-old is still one of the biggest match-winners for his national side, registering 30 unbeaten appearances which means he have been there in the middle till the end on these occasions to win the game for his side.
Green as match-winner for Australia
Criterion
Data
Won Matches
16
Innings
15
Not-Outs
3
Runs
441
Highest
62*
Average
36.75
Strike Rate
155.83
50s
5
100s
0
On the contrary, Green has been in Australia’s playing XI in the 16 won games, with his batting contribution of 441 runs in 15 innings with an average of 36.75, hitting five half-centuries. So, it can be said that Miller’s experience would have been a bigger advantage for the Knight Riders compared to Green’s hype in the tournament’s next edition.
Conclusion: KKR lost an economical steal to young-age hype
Even though, having a 26-year-old all-rounder instead of a 36-year-old veteran batter seems to be quite a practical move by KKR, considering the years Green can serve for compared to ‘nearing the end’ David Miller. But, there’s still a loophole in that approach and it is the fact that, 36-year-old Miller is still enjoying an amazing form in the shortest format of the game.
Besides that, as pace-bowling all-rounder, Cameron Green is also ‘vulnerable to injuries’, given his absence in the entire IPL 2025 season due to a back injury. So, it can be concluded that bagging an experienced David Miller in 2 crores would have been an economically smarter investment for KKR instead of putting 23.20 crores more in an injury-prone pace-bowling all-rounder.
.jpg?type=hq)
David Miller and Cameron Green (Source: AFP)
.jpg)
