Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) assistant coach Shane Watson is confident that Australian all-rounder Cameron Green will not be pressured by his record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore price tag for the 2026 IPL season.

Watson stated that Green thrives when playing with "absolute freedom" and maintains a strong mindset, having previously handled high expectations.

"I've seen players in the past who've had a high price tag on them. I've seen them crumble in the past, that wave of expectations really suffocated their ability to perform at their best," Watson told reporters ahead of KKR's training at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

"Cameron certainly doesn't see it that way. We've seen with him when he got picked up to play here at MI a couple of years ago for a pretty decent amount of money, he had a very good season."

Watson emphasized that Green views the game as having "nothing to lose" and aims for his best performance.

"That is his mindset when it comes to the IPL, that he's got nothing to lose. Obviously, that's what people are willing to pay for him, but he's there to be as free as he can, be at his very best, and we've seen how that has been very beneficial for his performances in the IPL over the last couple of seasons," Watson stated.

"If you've seen the way he's trained over the last couple of weeks, I don't think in any way that his performance will be suffocated by that price tag, because he's very free and excited about being able to be free in the middle as well," he added.

Watson confirmed that young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi is prepared to act as a backup wicketkeeper for IPL 2026, bolstering the squad's options due to limited specialist 'keepers.

"Yes, he is. Raghuvanshi has been working tirelessly on his wicketkeeping for the last five or six months. We've got Dishant Yagnik, who's as good a fielding and wicket-keeping coach there is in the world, not just in India. He's been working tirelessly with Angkrish," Watson said.

"He's (Raghuvanshi) certainly skilled, and we have seen him in the practice matches as well. His skill is certainly up to speed in dealing with what the IPL bowlers and KKR bowlers are going to throw at him. It means that we've got a number of options that we can go to, depending on the makeup of our team," he remarked

Watson said the franchise is playing a "waiting game" regarding the availability of pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who is currently recovering from a left calf strain and is undergoing rehabilitation with the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) medical team. He is expected to miss the initial stages of the tournament and will likely only be available from mid-April.

"It's a waiting game at the moment and we're being guided by the Sri Lankan cricket board. We are just doing everything we can to get him over here, really, as soon as possible," Watson said.

"With the calibre of support staff and medical staff that we've got here at KKR, we've got the exact same interests as Sri Lankan cricket as well. We want Pathirana to be here. We want him to be fit. We certainly would never, ever push him any earlier than he needs to.

"We just hope that sooner rather than later he's able to come over here and we can really start the integration process."

Watson highlighted that the current situation with fast bowling attack has created a significant opening for Blessing Muzarabani to showcase his skills against the world's top batters.

"Life's all about opportunities and to be able to see someone like Blessing Muzarabani, to get the opportunity that he's been working so hard towards with his exploits on the field," Watson said.

"For a tall guy, he's a great athlete. He's got great skills and for there to be an opportunity for him to be able to put it on the world stage, to be able to test it against the best batters in the world, I'm so excited for him," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)