CSK name former MI star as Ayush Mhatre's replacement for remainder of IPL 2026

Chennai Super Kings named pacer Akash Madhwal as replacement for young top-order batter Ayush Mhatre, who had recently been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing Indian Premier League season due to injury. Left-arm pacer Madhwal, who had previously represented Mumbai Indians in the 2023 and 2024 seasons and Rajasthan Royals last year, joins the Super Kings for a fee of Rs 30 lakh after initially going unsold at the mini auction in December.

The announcement from the Super Kings came shortly before their highly-anticipated 'El Clasico' showdown against fellow five-time champions Mumbai Indians at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, in which both teams will be hoping to collect their third win of the season.

"Speed incoming!! Akash Madhwal is now #Yellove," read the caption of a post by CSK on their official social media accounts.

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Madhwal's inclusion, however, raises eyebrows, since the Super Kings are bringing in an additional pacer to their lineup at the expense of a top-order batter.

How Mhatre's season was cut short

Mhatre had injured his hamstring while batting during CSK's away game against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday, which they lost by 10 runs. The Mumbai batter, who had recently captained the Indian U-19 team to victory in Zimbabwe, was batting on 30 off 12 deliveries after coming in as an 'Impact Sub' for Gurjapneet Singh when he clutched his left hamstring and signalled for the physio.

Mhatre decided to continue batting but hobbled while collecting a single in the next delivery, and was dismissed right after. He was eventually ruled out of the remainder of the season, with CSK later confirming that he would require a "rehabilitation period of 6-12 weeks".

The 18-year-old currently is CSK's leading run-scorer in the ongoing season with 201 runs at a strike rate of 177.87, slamming a couple of half-centuries in six outings. T20 World Cup hero Sanju Samson, who was traded to the franchise ahead of the player auction in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran, is second on the list with 192 runs at a strike rate of 174.54, which includes an unbeaten 115 against Delhi Capitals.