Chennai Super Kings on Thursday signed Akash Madhwal as a replacement for Ayush Mhatre, who was ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2026 due to an injury. Mhatre, India's U19 World Cup-winning captain, made an impactful start to the season for CSK, scoring two fifties in six matches before suffering a left hamstring injury in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Madhwal joins CSK for Rs 30 lakh. A right-arm fast bowler, Madhwal has previously represented Mumbai Indians (2023, 2024) and Rajasthan Royals (2025). The Uttarakhand pacer, who had attended CSK trials earlier in the season, has featured in 17 IPL matches, picking up 23 wickets. The 32-year-old also has a five-wicket haul to his name, having recorded sensational figures of 5/5 in his debut season for MI in the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants.
Five titles each, shifting dominance and rich legacy define MI-CSK rivalry, with recent trends favouring Chennai Super Kings
Elsewhere in the competition, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) victory over Delhi Capitals helped them rise to fourth place in the standings, while DC slipped to fifth.
Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings continue to lead the points table in IPL 2026 with their six-match unbeaten run
Jacks' arrival comes at an important stage of the tournament, with the Mumbai Indians trying to climb the points table after recovering from early setbacks
Mhatre is now the third CSK player after Nathan Ellis and Khaleel Ahmed to be ruled out of IPL 2026 after picking up an injury
Ayush Mhatre has been CSK's most successful batter in IPL 2026 with 201 runs to his name in 6 matches
SRH's Heinrich Klaasen is leading the Orange Cap leaderboard of IPL 2026 at the moment, while CSK's Anshul Kamboj is leading the top wicket-takers' chart
Abhishek broke his own record of a 16-ball fifty he scored against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024
IPL 2026 HIGHLIGHTS: CSK needed 18 runs off the last over to win the match, but Praful Hinge only conceded 7 runs to seal the win for SRH
JioHotstar in India will stream the IPL 2026 match between SRH and CSK on its app and website.
Chennai Super Kings have shown signs of recovery after a shaky start to their campaign. They have managed to secure two wins in their last few matches, earning valuable points and regaining some confi
With back-to-back victories under their belt, CSK seem to have found their rhythm again and will look to build on this resurgence as the tournament progresses.
With 2 consecutive wins, Chennai appears to have rediscovered its balance and rhythm, boosting morale and putting their campaign back on track as the tournament progresses.
Nabi, who was signed by Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs 8.40 crore during the player auction last year, came into the tournament after finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26
In Cummins' absence, SRH appointed Ishan Kishan as the stand-in skipper for the team, under whom the Hyderabad-based franchise has won two games out of the five games they have played this season
With a quarter of the league stage now completed, the playoff race is beginning to take early shape.
The injury occurred during CSK's recent win over Kolkata Knight Riders, when Khaleel pulled up mid-over and was seen clutching his quads in visible discomfort
SRH's Heinrich Klaasen is currently leading the orange cap leaderboard, while GT's Prasidh Krishna holds the lead in the purple cap leaderboard
IPL 2026 HIGHLIGHTS: The last time CSK won back-to-back games in IPL was against KKR and MI back in 2024