Chennai Super Kings suffered a massive blow on Tuesday (April 21) after Ayush Mhatre was ruled out of the remainder of IPL 2026 with a hamstring injury. CSK have confirmed that the 18-year-old's injury will require a rehabilitation period of 6-12 weeks, thus ruling him out of the competition.
The youngster was seen clutching his left hamstring after attempting a second run while batting against SRH in Hyderabad on April 18. He required on-field attention a couple of times before he got out, and on his way back, Ramakrishna Ghosh and the physio Tommy Simsek helped him off the field. The batter then underwent scans on Monday to determine the extent of his injury.
Mhatre's absence will hurt CSK's chances big time with the five-time champions already struggling for momentum in the tournament. Losing their first three games, CSK won the next two before losing again recently in Hyderabad. Mhatre has been their top-scorer up until now, scoring two half-centuries, at a very impressive strike rate of 177.87.
CSK were just dealt a blow few days earlier when seamer Khaleel Ahmed got ruled out of the tournament. They also lost Nathan Ellis to an injury even before the tournament began and Dewald Brevis didn't feature in the initial games as well. Veteran MS Dhoni hasn't been available to play yet and will be one of the contenders to come into the playing XII now subject to his fitness. CSK's next fixture is against Mumbai Indians on April 23 at the Wankhede stadium.
