Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have signed Akash Madhwal on Thursday as a replacement for batter Ayush Mhatre, who was ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mhatre, who had been a consistent performer for the franchise in IPL 2026 at no.3, was ruled out of the tournament with a torn hamstring, suffered in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 18.

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 while batting against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Notably, Madhwal was seen at the CSK training a few days ago.

"Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have signed Akash Madhwal as a replacement for Ayush Mhatre, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 due to injury," IPL said in a statement.

"Madhwal, a right-arm fast bowler, has previously represented Mumbai Indians (MI) (2023, 2024) and Rajasthan Royals (2025). He has featured in 17 IPL matches, picking up 23 wickets. He 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," the statement added.

Why CSK signed a bowler instead of batter?

The primary reason for signing a bowler in place of Mhatre stemmed from the fact that the franchise have also lost pacer Khaleel Ahmed due to injury. While there are a lot of young batters who can fill the void for Mhatre in the batting lineup, CSK badly needed a bowler who can assist the likes of Anshul Kamboj, Matt Henry in the bowling department.

Earlier, CSK had lost Australian pacer Nathan Ellis due to injury. "Ayush's injury will require a rehabilitation period of 6-12 weeks. We wish Ayush a speedy recovery," CSK had earlier posted on social media.