KKR could lose Cameron Green before playoffs as Australia ODI selections for Pakistan disrupt IPL plans: Report

By Sandy Verma On May 12, 2026

The IPL 2026 final stretch has been hit by an Australian exodus that could reshape the playoff race at the worst possible moment for the franchises involved.

Cricket Australia’s ODI squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan has triggered a chain of departures that will be felt most acutely by KKR and Lucknow Super Giants, two teams at completely opposite ends of the table but both losing key Australian contributors at a stage of the tournament where every combination decision carries enormous weight.

Cameron Green’s exit and why KKR cannot afford to lose him now

As per Rev Sportz report, of all the Australian departures from IPL 2026, Cameron Green’s is the one that stings the most in terms of timing and context. KKR have won four games on the bounce, climbed into genuine top-four contention from a position that looked hopeless in early April, and Green has been central to the revival, his batting providing the kind of middle-order solidity that gives the KKR innings a shape it lacked in the first half of the season.

The twenty-five crore rupee signing is now heading back to Australia for ODI duty against Pakistan and KKR must find a way to replace not just his runs but the specific role he played in balancing a lineup that relies heavily on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy with the ball.

Losing a player of Green’s caliber when four consecutive wins have put the IPL 2026 playoffs within touching distance is not a selection headache, it is a genuine crisis for a team that has spent most of this season in damage-limitation mode.

Mitchell Marsh and what LSG lose even if they have already lost everything else

Mitchell Marsh’s departure from Lucknow Super Giants is painful in a different way. LSG’s IPL 2026 season is effectively over, they sit last on the table with four points and no realistic path to qualification, but Marsh has been one of the few individuals in the LSG squad who consistently showed up and delivered.

His century earlier in the season was the kind of innings that reminded everyone why he was brought in as one of the franchise’s premium overseas options, and his opening partnership with Josh Inglis gave LSG their best powerplay starts of the entire campaign.

He leaves a team that needed him to stay and fight rather than depart, even if the cause is already mathematically lost. For LSG, his exit is less about the IPL 2026 playoffs and more about pride and the performances that might yet influence other teams’ net run rates in the remaining fixtures.

The franchises who got lucky: Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc stay

While KKR and LSG absorb the Australian departures, three IPL franchises have been handed significant relief by Cricket Australia’s selection decisions. Pat Cummins remains available for Sunrisers Hyderabad, where his captaincy and bowling have been central to their remarkable turnaround from three losses in four games to table-toppers with fourteen points.

Josh Hazlewood stays with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where his four for twelve against Delhi remains the most destructive single bowling spell RCB have produced this season and where his availability for the final four games, including the virtual quarter-final against PBKS on May 17, is enormously significant.

Mitchell Starc, who finally joined Delhi Capitals after months of injury and NOC complications, remains with DC for their remaining fixtures after only recently making his 2026 IPL debut. For all three franchises, the news that their Australian key men are staying is as important as the departures are damaging for KKR and LSG.

Also READ: Australia names fresh-faced squad for Pakistan and Bangladesh tour