Chennai Super Kings have lost the services of pacer Khaleel Ahmed and batter Ayush Mhatre for the entire season due to injuries.
Published: April 23, 2026 4:38 PM IST
MI vs CSK IPL 2026: Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings are battling plenty of injury issues in the middle of the IPL 2026 season. In just over a week, CSK have lost the services of pacer Khaleel Ahmed and batter Ayush Mhatre due to injuries.
While Khaleel has been ruled out due to quadriceps injury, Mhatre has torn his hamstring and out for the entire season as well. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s side are getting ready to face Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026’s first ‘El Clasico’ at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday and announced the signing of former MI pacer Akash Madhwal as replacement of Mhatre.
Madhwal was part of Nita Ambani’s MI in the IPL 2023 and 2024 season claiming 14 and 5 wickets respectively. “Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have signed Akash Madhwal as a replacement for Ayush Mhatre, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 due to injury,” a BCCI statement read on Thursday
Official Announcement
Speed incoming!! ⚡️
Akash Madhwal is now #YelloveNote: Akash Madhwal replaces Ayush Mhatre, who has been ruled out due to hamstring injury.#WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/tSgnZupmZb
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 23, 2026
Madhwal, a right-arm fast bowler, has previously represented Mumbai Indians (2023, 2024) and Rajasthan Royals (2025). He has featured in 17 IPL matches, picking up 23 wickets. He also has a five-wicket haul to his name, having recorded sensational figures of 5/5 in his debut season for MI in the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants.
“Mhatre, India’s U19 World Cup-winning captain, made an impactful start to the season for CSK, scoring two fifties in six matches before suffering a left hamstring injury while batting in Match 27 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Madhwal joins CSK for a fee of Rs 30 Lakh,” the statement added.
The 32-year-old was signed up for a price of Rs 1.2 crore ahead of IPL 2025 season by Rajasthan Royals but only played in 4 games last year and ended up with only 4 wickets. He was subsequently released by the Royals ahead of IPL 2026 and went unsold in the mini auction last year.
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Madhwal had shot into prominence back in 2021 when he was picked as a net bowler by Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He was signed mid-way through the IPL 2022 season by Mumbai Indians as replacement of injured Suryakumar Yadav.
He was then appointed captain of Uttarakhand team in the 2022-23 domestic season. He has claimed 61 wickets in only 56 T20 matches in his domestic career at an average of 27.88. He has also picked up 16 wickets in first-class cricket and 25 in List A format.
It will be interesting to see if CSK will pick Madhwal to make his debut against his former team on Thursday evening.
