Australia's young all-rounder Cameron Green went under the knife last year after suffereing a stress fracture. Like any athlete, Green was nervous about the surgery as well but a "special" message from India's premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah instilled confidence in him.
"Jasprit Bumrah reached out the night before I was getting surgery. He was in the middle of a Test match in India," Green told reporters.
"Just a few things like that are really special and makes you feel a lot better about it. To get someone like him to reach out and then to watch him during the summer, to see how good he is obviously post-surgery, filled me with a lot of confidence," Green told reporters.
Green made IPL debut for Mumbai Indians
Bumrah was playing in the home Test series against New Zealand when Green had surgery. Green and Bumrah played together at Mumbai Indians (MI).
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Green made his debut in the cash-rich league for five-time champions MI. Green had a good season with bat, scoring 452 runs from 16 innings at an average of 50.22, including a century and two fifties. With the ball, he took six wickets. In IPL 2024, he joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He opted out of IPL 2025 mega auction as he had back surgery and his main focus was the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final.
Green gives details of his surgery
Not just Bumrah, Green got reassurances from Jason Behrendorff and Ben Dwarshuis as well. He gave details about the 'rare' characteristics of his back injury.
"The main reason for (the operation) was to shave down some bone – I've obviously had a bit of trauma in my L4, and extra bone had just developed on that part of the spine," Green told cricket.com.au's 'Unplayable Podcast'.
"By doing that, it forced my spine not to be able to bend as well, and it was probably smashing up against this new bone that wasn't helping it flex. That put a bit too much pressure (on the L4 vertebrae) that I'd actually broken the facet joint on the other side, which was quite rare for a back injury," he added.
Green to play as a batter in WTC final
The 26-year-old will be seen in action when Australia take on South Africa in the WTC final starting June 11 at Lord's, London. Having scored three centuries and one fifty during his recent County cricket stint with Gloucestershire, he is set to play as a batter at no.3 and is relishing the role.
"The silver lining to having back injuries is I've got four chances only to be a batter," he said.
"I felt like my game's always been good around those periods. I'm always going to keep bowling, but you're so much more relaxed [with] half a game to worry about. When you're bowling and batting, there's so much more you have to do bowling wise to keep yourself fit and ready to play. It does take away from batting. So, certainly, just batting is nice." "I got exactly what I wanted out of it. To get back playing some professional cricket was exactly what I needed after a few months off ."
Green on batting at no.3
Green is happy to bat at no.3 against the Temba Bavuma-led side. If it happens, Marnus Labuschagne will either open or warm the benches. He recalled batting at no.3 in first-class cricket as well.
"You grow up through your whole career, you speak to anyone here, they've definitely batted in the top three or four throughout their whole junior career," he said.
"I was no different, batting three until you get to first-class cricket. Absolutely no issues batting at three when you've done it your whole life."
Green's Test record against South Africa
Green has played two Tests against South Africa. From three innings, he has scored 69 runs, including an unbeaten half-century. He has taken a five-wicket haul against the Proteas as well. However, he is unlikely to bowl against them this time.