IPL injury swings: Ellis out, Pathirana fit
Chennai Super Kings were hit by a big blow with Australian pacer Nathan Ellis ruled out of IPL 2026, disrupting CSK’s pace plans (sundayguardianlive.com). Conversely, KKR got a timely boost with Matheesha Pathirana declared fit ahead of their opener against Mumbai Indians (indiatoday.in).
Nathan Ellis aggravated an old hamstring in the domestic One‑Day Cup final on March 11 and has been ruled out of IPL 2026, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan confirmed to Sportstar. (espncricinfo.com: sportstar.thehindu.com: ) Ellis had been retained by CSK for INR 2 crore before the auction and has appeared in 17 IPL matches overall, 16 of them for Punjab Kings, removing a bowler with prior death-over experience from CSK’s plans. (espncricinfo.com: ) CSK’s listed overseas fast options now read Matt Henry, Jamie Overton and Zak Foulkes, while domestic seam resources include Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh and Mukesh Choudhary alongside all‑rounders Shivam Dube and Aman Khan. (espncricinfo.com: ) CSK’s opening fixture is on March 30 against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati, a fixed date in the BCCI/ESPN schedule that sets the deadline for any replacement registration before that match. (espncricinfo.com: ) Sri Lanka Cricket has granted Matheesha Pathirana an NOC and SLC secretary Bandula Dissanayake told PTI that Pathirana “has completed rehab” and is fit, though KKR’s medical team must still assess match readiness. (news18.com: ) Pathirana, who was bought by KKR for Rs 18 crore, suffered a calf strain after completing four overs against Australia in the T20 World Cup and has 47 wickets in 32 IPL appearances according to media reports. (news18.com: zeenews.india.com: ) KKR begin their campaign away at Mumbai Indians at Wankhede on March 29 and were reported to be scheduled to fly out for Mumbai on March 25, leaving a narrow window for Pathirana to join the squad before the opener. (espncricinfo.com: news18.com: )
