"You couldn't use him that well in the 1st half" - Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians' utilization of Cameron Green in IPL 2023

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that the Mumbai Indians (MI) weren't able to use Cameron Green effectively in the first half of IPL 2023.

MI bought Green for a whopping ₹17.5 crore at the IPL 2023 auction. They used the Australian all-rounder at No. 3 at the start of the tournament before he was asked to perform the finisher's role alongside Tim David. However, he was moved back to No. 3 in the last few matches when he was found slightly wanting down the order.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on the performances of some of the big-ticket buys in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League. He highlighted that although the Mumbai Indians might have envisaged Green as a top-order batter, he wasn't given that role for a long time in the initial phase of the tournament, elaborating:

"Cameron Green was bought for 17.5 crores, he was extremely expensive. What would have been your thinking when you were buying him - Cam Green as an opener or No. 3 batter and then he might give you two or three overs of bowling. That's about it. You wouldn't have thought that he could be a finisher."

The former Indian opener added:

"At that time as well, the discussion was that there was no place in the top four or five, with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav being there already. If there was no place for Cameron Green in the top four or five, you couldn't use him that well in the first half."

Green batted at No. 3 in MI's first two matches of IPL 2023 but was dismissed cheaply in both games. He was then moved to the lower-middle order, with either Tilak Varma or Suryakumar Yadav walking out to bat at the fall of the first wicket.

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"He couldn't be utilized fully" - Aakash Chopra on Cameron Green batting down the order

Cameron Green smashed a century when he was moved back to No. 3. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra pointed out that the team's balance forced Green to bat down the order:

"In the middle phase of the IPL, you asked Cameron Green to bat in the lower order because the team's balance was not looking that good. So a very huge buy with a lot of money, but he couldn't be utilized fully as he was probably not fitting properly in the team's balance."

Green amassed 452 runs in 16 matches at an excellent average of 50.22 and an equally impressive strike rate of 160.28 in IPL 2023. His best performances came when he was moved back to the No. 3 position, including a blazing unbeaten century in MI's must-win final league game against the SunRisers Hyderabad.