CSK set to miss Nathan Ellis for entire IPL 2026; Who can replace injured Australian pacer? 5 possible replacements

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered a major blow after Nathan Ellis was set to miss the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ellis, who was retained by CSK for ₹2 crores ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction, is believed to have suffered a hamstring injury. However, an official confirmation from the franchise is yet to come.

Ellis has been an integral part of CSK's death-over bowling plans. But with the Australian left-arm pacer set to be ruled out, the five-time champions will have to bank on New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy and English Jamie Overton. In fact, Overton could take over the death-over bowling responsibilities, a role that he has taken up for the national team.

Ellis' injury first came into spotlight during the Big Bash League when he had to sit of out of the knockout stages for Hobart Hurricanes. Recently, Ellis featured for Tasmania against New South Wales in the Australian One-Day Cup final in Hobart and picked up 2/26 in five overs. It is still unclear whether Ellis aggravated his injury in that game.

It has been observed that CSK pick players with specific skill-sets - hit the deck and bowlers who have multiple variations, in order to suit the conditions in Chepauk. While Ellis' replacement is yet to be finalised, here are five possible replacements Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side might look at.

Jason Behrendorff (Australia): The left-arm Australian is a like-to-like replacement for Ellis and provides swing in the powerplay. Behrendorff has played for Mumbai Indians before and has adequate amount of experience on Indian conditions.

Sean Abbott (Australia): Another direct swap for Ellis could be fellow Sean Abbott. The Australian pacer played just three IPL games in 2015 and 2022 editions and comes in with a lod of Big Bash League experience.

Shamar Joseph (West Indies): The West Indies pacer could be the X-factor for CSK if picked. Joseph offers pace and extra bounce and was in brilliant form in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2026 in India. Although he was picked by Lucknow Super Giants before but spent most of the time on the bench.

Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan): The Afghanistan left-arm pacer is an IPL veteran among the lot. He was a consistent member of the Sunrisers Hyderabad playing XI until a few seasons ago and offers variety. He can also be used for death overs.