IPL 2024: Pretty special to share partnership with 'incredible' Kohli, says Cameron Green

BENGALURU: Cameron Green, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder, hailed the talismanic Virat Kohli as an ‘incredible’ cricketer and felt pretty special to have been his partner in a 65-run stand for the side in their game against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.

Though RCB lost by seven wickets, Kohli continued his good run in IPL 2024 with an unbeaten 83, including smashing Mitchell Starc for 33 runs off 17 balls. Green chipped in with a 21-ball 33 in what was his third innings for RCB after being traded to the franchise by his previous side Mumbai Indians.

“Virat is awesome; I have been really impressed in the last few weeks about how much energy he’s got and how he wants to give it back to the game by helping others. We had a discussion before the game (against Kolkata Knight Riders) about a different way to face Sunil Narine compared to other spinners.”

“I played a certain shot in the game off him, about which he was happy. We had spoken about that and it paid off. He’s been awesome so far and his performances have been next-level for us so far. Really grateful for him; he’s an incredible cricketer and it was a pretty special moment to share a (65-run) partnership with him,” said Green, while replying to an IANS query in a virtual press conference.

Last year, Green shared the dressing room with Rohit Sharma and this time, he’s in the same team as Kohli. When asked how the experience has been of being under two stalwarts of the game, Green said, “Both are greats of the game. Every time I think about it, I am pinching myself about being lucky enough to play with two of the greats of the game of world cricket, if not Indian cricket.”

“What makes them great is, they both are very similar – equally happy to help the team win cricket matches. They are happy to give you time and information about the other team and their own experiences and tell what has worked for them. I am just very happy to have the chance of having them in the change room with me.”

In his nascent T20 career, Green has batted at the top of the order and even in the middle order. He admitted that there is work going on to decide what is his best batting position in the shortest form of the game.

“That’s the beauty of being an all-rounder – I feel like I can bat anywhere in the line-up and I am still really fresh in my T20 career. I am still trying to work out where I am best suited to bat. I feel like I have got the skill sets to bat anywhere – batting at top of the order in the IPL.”

“But at the same time, physically, I have also got the abilities to bat down the order. I am still trying to learn about my game and I am around an elite coaching staff and they will help me with that. So, might chop and change over time, but I am pretty open to learning.”