Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have suffered a big blow just a week before the start of the 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 as their prime bowler Nathan Ellis has been ruled out of the whole tournament due to a hamstring injury. The franchise confirmed the exit of the Australian pacer with a social media post on March 20. “Nathan Ellis has been ruled out of the season due to a Hamstring injury. Wishing him a speedy recovery!” CSK wrote on X.
Ellis, who has taken 19 wickets from 17 IPL matches, was bought by CSK for Rs 2 crore at the 2025 mega auction after four seasons with Punjab Kings and was retained ahead of the 2026 season. The 31-year-old, who was in great touch for Australia in the past year, was expected to play a big role for the franchise after they let go their prime bowler Matheesha Pathirana, who will now play for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the upcoming season.
With Ellis out of the season, CSK’s overseas fast-bowling contingent is now left with Matt Henry, Jamie Overton and Zak Foulkes, and the Indians in the mix are Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh and Mukesh Choudhary. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team also has India’s T20 World Cup champion Shivam Dube and Aman Khan as pace bowling all-rounders.
CSK will open their campaign in the IPL 2026 on March 30 when they take on the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. They will then host Punjab Kings on April 3 and Delhi Capitals on April 11 at their home ground, M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, before going to Bengaluru for the contest against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 5.
