The BCCI have approved replacement players for CSK’s Khaleel Ahmed and RCB’s Nuwan Thushara in middle of IPL 2026 season.
Published: May 15, 2026 3:26 PM IST
Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru are currently at pole position on the IPL 2026 Points Table with 16 points to their name while MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings are still in the race to reach the Playoffs as they take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium on Friday. Both sides have got some good news from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the middle of the season after dealing with plenty of injury issues.
The BCCI announced on Friday that pacers Kuldip Yadav and Richard Gleeson will be signing up with CSK and RCB respectively as replacement players. Indian tearaway Kuldip will replace injured left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed of CSK after signing up for Rs 30 lakh while England pacer Gleeson will come into the side to replace Sri Lanka’s Thushara in RCB outfit.
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“Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have picked player replacements for Khaleel Ahmed and Nuwan Thushara who have been ruled out of the remainder of the season due to injuries. Kuldip Yadav will join CSK for Rs 30 lakh, whereas Richard Gleeson will join RCB for a fee of Rs 1.6 crore,” a BCCI release stated.
Official Announcement
Kuldip Yadav is Yellove!
A new warrior joins the pride!Note: Kuldip Yadav replaces Khaleel Ahmed, who was ruled out due to injury.#WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/XCe6esUKKe
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 15, 2026
Thushara, who was retained by Kohli’s RCB for Rs 1.6 crore ahead of the IPL 2026 season, did not play a single match for the defending champions this year. The Sri Lanka fast bowler had been denied a NOC by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board after failing to meet their fitness standards. During an impasse with SLC, Thushara had even threatened to retire and file a lawsuit against the cricket board which he eventually withdrew.
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The Lankan star had only played in one match in IPL 2025 season with RCB and claimed 1 wicket. He was part of the Mumbai Indians franchise in IPL 2024 and had claimed 8 wickets in 7 matches.
Meanwhile, Khaleel had been retained for Rs 4.8 crore by Dhoni’s CSK ahead of IPL 2026 season. He had claimed only 2 wickets this season in 5 matches before being ruled out with quadriceps injury.
“A medium pacer, Kuldip, made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals in 2021 and has featured in three games for the franchise. Gleeson, the English fast bowler, has featured in six T20I games for his country, taking 9 wickets. He represented CSK and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2024 and 2025 editions of the league, featuring in 2 games for CSK and one for MI respectively,” the BCCI announced.
