Chennai Super Kings signed Spencer Johnson as Nathan Ellisโ replacement for IPL 2026. Ellis, who was retained by the five-time champions, was earlier ruled out of the tournament, owing to a hamstring injury, leading to CSK’s search for a possible replacement. They eventually signed fellow Australia quick Johnson, but in an interesting turn of events, the 30-year-old will now miss the first half of the IPL.
Chennai, on a social media post, confirmed that the pacer will join the squad in the third week of April. He was expected to solve the death-bowling woes, but that needs to wait. In the meantime, South Australia head coach Ryan Harris shared an update on Johnson, stating that he has started bowling in the nets but is not yet ready to feature in competitive cricket.
โFinally, he’s got some really good news โฆ. the crack in his back is healed. He’s had quite a frustrating eight to 10 months. So the good news is he’s back bowling, he’s building up again. But he’s obviously got to do a fair bit of bowling before he goes back into competitive cricket. They’re working on that as we speak. It’ll be good to see Spencer back playing cricket,โ Harris told reporters as quoted by cricket.com.au ahead of South Australia’s Sheffield Shield final clash with Victoria.
Who can solve CSKโs death bowling woes?
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side is expected to trust Khaleel Ahmed for the role. Matt Henry, who is a phenomenal new-ball bowler, can also chip in in the death overs. Apart from that, Chennai have several options to choose from. Noor Ahmad and Prashant Veer are expected to lead the spin-bowling unit, while either Gujapneet Singh, Mukesh Chaudhary or Anshul Kamboj can chip in as an Impact Player.
On the other hand, Matt Short is also expected to miss the first few games for CSK as he is currently dealing with a fractured thumb.ย
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