Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) search for a replacement for Nathan Ellis has ended. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has confirmed that Ellis is ruled out. In his place, Australian left-arm fast bowler Spencer Johnson will join CSK for the IPL 2026 season.

CSK replace Nathan Ellis with Spencer Johnson

Last week, it was reported that Ellis had sustained a hamstring injury during a training session and would not be fit for the tournament. CSK were looking for potential replacements, and there were murmurs that Ottniel Baartman, who was picked up by the Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), could replace him.

However, that won’t be happening. Johnson, who’d gone unsold at the IPL 2026, will join CSK for INR 1.50 crore. The left-arm pacer has previously played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2025 and the Gujarat Titans in 2024. However, his returns weren’t great.

CSK squad for IPL 2026

MS Dhoni (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brewis✈️, Shivam Dube, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad✈️, Spencer Johnson✈️, Shreyas Gopal, Khaleel Ahmed, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Mukesh Choudhary, Jamie Overton✈️, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Akeal Hosein✈️, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma (wk), Matthew Short✈️, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry✈️, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes✈️