The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have signed Akash Madhwal as Ayush Mhatre’s replacement for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The fast bowler had appeared for trials and was seen bowling in the nets to CSK batters before the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) match on April 18.
CSK’s Ayush Mhatre replacement
Just two days ago, on April 16, Khaleel Ahmed was ruled out of the tournament due to a right quadricep injury. Madhwal, who has played for the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR), was the frontrunner to replace Khaleel. The 32-year-old has joined CSK’s squad before the MI match on April 23 in Mumbai, but not as Khaleel’s replacement.
You see, Mhatre injured himself during the SRH match. Therefore, CSK had to replace a top-order batter and a frontline fast bowler. Madhwal was already lined up to come into the team, and CSK probably still hasn’t finalised who to bring in for Mhatre. So, they’ve announced a fast bowler as a replacement for a batter.
Madhwal, who has 23 wickets in 17 matches in the IPL, will join CSK at his auction base price of INR 30 lakh. The right-arm went unsold last year in Abu Dhabi after he had an underwhelming 2025 season with RR. However, he’s shown in the past that he belongs in the IPL.
His career-defining moment was a 5-wicket haul in the 2023 Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants for MI. However, he hasn’t hit that level since. He was released by Mumbai after two seasons, 2023 and 2024. Now, Madhwal has the opportunity to prove his worth with CSK.
CSK squad IPL 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sanju Samson (wk), MS Dhoni (wk), Dewald Brevis✈️, Akash Madhwal (replaces Ayush Mhatre), Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma (wk), Prashant Veer, Sarfaraz Khan, Noor Ahmad, Akeal Hosein✈️, Gurjapneet Singh, Matt Henry✈️, Jamie Overton✈️, Matt Short✈️, Urvil Patel (wk), Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes✈️, Anshul Kamboj, Ramkrishna Ghosh, Rahul Chahar, Shreyas Gopal, Spencer Johnson✈️, Mukesh Choudhary
