'They Are Jealous of Me' — Rahane Loses the Plot While KKR Burns

There is a moment in every failing campaign where the leader has a choice. Accept the reality. Or blame the audience. Ajinkya Rahane chose the audience.

After KKR's back-to-back losses — including a forgettable collapse against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens — the defending champion captain sat in the post-match press conference and delivered a masterclass in deflection. Not in batting. In deflection.

"People who are talking about me are probably not watching the game, or they have a certain agenda against me," Rahane said. Then, as if the first statement wasn't enough: "The amount of success that I got, I guess, they are jealous of me."

Jealous. Of a captain whose team is winless in two completed matches. Whose strike rate across three innings reads 167, 80, and 133 — a rollercoaster that suggests neither plan nor pattern. The IPL title defence isn't just off-track. It hasn't found the track yet.

Rahane's personal form is only half the conversation at Eden Gardens. The other half weighs ₹25.2 crore and can't bowl.

Cameron Green was bought as an all-rounder. He was supposed to be KKR's X-factor — the man who could bat in the top five and deliver four overs of genuine pace. Instead, he's been a specialist batter averaging 16 in two innings, with Cricket Australia restricting his bowling due to a lower-back concern that was apparently communicated to KKR after the auction.

KKR bowling coach Tim Southee has been careful with his words: "He's not far away from bowling in a match. We're in regular contact with Cricket Australia." Translation: we're paying for a Ferrari and being told we can only use second gear.

Green is expected to finally bowl today against LSG at Eden Gardens. If he does, it'll be his first competitive overs since March. If he doesn't, KKR's depleted pace attack — already without Mustafizur Rahman, Harshit Rana, and Akash Deep — will be stretched to the point of breaking.

While Rahane was busy finding enemies in the press box, Sunil Gavaskar was busy naming the actual problem — and he wasn't pulling punches.

In his Sportstar column, the batting legend went after overseas players who arrive in the IPL with workload restrictions, half-fit bodies, and full-fat contracts. His target was unmistakable: Cameron Green and the growing trend of all-rounders playing as specialist batters while pocketing all-rounder money.

Gavaskar's argument is uncomfortable because it's logical. If a franchise pays ₹25.2 crore for a bowling all-rounder and gets a batter who averages 16, someone has been deceived. If Cricket Australia knew about the bowling restriction before the auction but didn't communicate it clearly, the system has failed. If they communicated it and KKR bid anyway, the franchise has failed.

Either way, Gavaskar's prescription is blunt: if a player cannot perform their designated role from day one, they should withdraw to allow franchises to pick a replacement. And cricket boards that issue NOCs for 10% of the auction fee should bear some responsibility for the player's fitness and availability.

Gavaskar's "cash cow" broadside lands at a moment when the NOC system itself is under fire. Nuwan Thushara — RCB's Sri Lankan pacer — has taken Sri Lanka Cricket to court after being denied permission to play in IPL 2026. His case is being heard today in Colombo.

Thushara's argument is that his SLC contract expired on March 31, making any NOC requirement a restraint on his livelihood. It echoes the Tabraiz Shamsi case in South Africa, where a High Court forced CSA to grant an NOC when the player wasn't under a central contract.

The irony is rich: one overseas player can't play because his board won't let him, while another is playing but can't do the job he was bought for — and the board that cleared him gets 10% regardless. The system is simultaneously too restrictive and too permissive, depending on which end of the injustice you're standing on.

KKR face Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens tonight in what feels like a season-defining match for a side that's only two completed games deep. That's the cost of losing both. Suddenly every match is urgent.

LSG arrive with momentum — fresh off Shami's match-winning spell against SRH and Rishabh Pant's chaotic brilliance. KKR need Green to bowl, Rahane to bat with intent rather than ego, and their remaining bowlers to somehow plug the gaps left by four missing pacers.

If Green bowls and fires, the narrative shifts. If he breaks down or goes for runs, the Gavaskar column becomes a prophecy. And if Rahane fails again, no amount of "jealousy" claims will drown out the noise.

The defending champions don't have a crisis of confidence. They have a crisis of accountability. And until someone at Eden Gardens admits the problems are real — not agenda-driven, not jealousy-fuelled, not baseless — KKR will keep losing matches and winning press conferences.