IPL 2026: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have signed Spencer Johnson as a replacement for injured Nathan Ellis ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. Johnson will join the franchise for Rs 1.5 crore after Ellis was ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury. However, Johnson will not be available for the first three weeks of the season and is expected to join the squad between April 21 and 23, the franchise said.
The left-arm pacer has played 13 international matches for the Australia national cricket team — five One-Day Internationals and eight Twenty20 Internationals — and has taken 18 wickets. He has previously featured in the Indian Premier League for Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders where he played four matches for and took one wicket.
Ellis’ absence leaves CSK without a specialist death-overs bowler, with pace options including Jamie Overton, Shivam Dube, Zak Foulkes, Gurjanpreet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary and Matt Henry.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has scheduled the first phase of the tournament from March 28 to April 12 across 10 cities. The five-time IPL champions will open their IPL 2026 campaign against the Rajasthan Royals on March 30 in Guwahati.
