Not just Green, Cricket Australia asks this all-rounder to not bowl until April end in IPL 2026

The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have been rocked by injuries to key overseas players. While some have been ruled out, some are fulfilling half of their roles. Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Rs 25.20 crore recruit Cameron Green can’t bowl for at least three more games as per Cricket Australia (CA). Also, the Australian cricket board has confirmed that Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) all-rounder Cooper Connolly won’t be able to bowl until the end of April.

As per a report by ESPNCricinfo, Connolly is yet to recover from a back issue. However, he will continue to play as a pure batter for half of the tournament. Also, he has been slotted to bat at no.3, a role fulfilled by his Australian teammate Jos Inglis in the previous season. Inglis was released as he was partially available and was roped in by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

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Connolly’s struggle for form

Connolly is not in best of forms with the bat. He registered two ducks on Pakistan tour. In the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 must-win clash against Sri Lanka, he departed for a single-digit score.

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Earlier, he had started the Big Bash League (BBL) 2025-26 season with a bang, scoring two half-centuries. But, runs dried up for him for the rest of the season.

Connolly’s T20 numbers with bat

His overall T20 statistics with the bat have not been extraordinary but PBKS seem to be backing his talent. The 22-year-old has scored 870 runs from 45 innings at an average of 24.85 and strike rate of 132.62. He has four fifties in the format. Also, in 13 T20Is, he has batted seven times and managed to score just 28 runs.

PBKS’ campaign opener

PBKS will start their campaign against Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 in Mullanpur. It is yet to be seen whether PBKS try to maintain right-left combination or Connolly bats at no.3 nevertheless.

PBKS' overseas options

If not Connolly, PBKS can also test out Mitchell Owen at no.3. He opens for Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL and can use the powerplay overs. In the middle, they have already got the services of skipper Shreyas Iyer, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Shashank Singh and Nehal Wadhera.