Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been dealt a major blow ahead of the start of IPL 2026, with pacer Nathan Ellis ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury.

The 31-year old Australian seamer most recently featured for Tasmania in the Australian One-Day Cup final in Hobart, picking up 2/26 across five overs as his team went down to New South Wales. While it is not known as to when or how he picked up the injury, Ellis did struggle with a hamstring niggle that kept him out of the knockout stage of the Big Bash League (BBL) where he led the Hobart Hurricanes.

The Super Kings confirmed to Cricbuzz that they are weighing their replacement options from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP), which contains over 1,300 players. Ellis was expected to lead CSK's death-bowling charge, with the five-time champions having let go of Matheesha Pathirana ahead of the player auction in December.

Elsewhere, Ellis' countryman Jack Edwards has also been ruled out of the tournament with an injury. Edwards was set to feature for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in what would have been his maiden IPL stint, with SRH snapping him up for a sum of INR 3 crore at the player auction.

While the franchise confirmed Edwards' unavailability to Cricbuzz, the specifics of his injury are unknown at this point. This is the second injury blow dealt to the Sunrisers, who are also sweating over the availability of regular skipper Pat Cummins. The franchise named Ishan Kishan their captain for the opening few matches of the tournament, which Cummins has been confirmed to miss.

It has also been learnt that Sam Curran, who was traded to the Rajasthan Royals from CSK, is also set to be ruled out of IPL 2026 with a groin injury. Curran was part of England's T20 World Cup squad which made the semifinal.

It remains to be seen if the Royals and the Sunrisers also explore replacement options from the RAPP. IPL 2026 will commence on March 28 with SRH facing defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.