New Delhi: Spencer Johnson announced as replacement for injured Nathan Ellis for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has created quite a stir. There had been a bit of mystery surrounding Johnson’s signing as a replacement player.The 30-year-old was earlier signed by Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) but withdrew from the tournament due to personal reasons. A few days later, he joined the five-time IPL champions for Rs 1.5 crore (US$160,000). Interestingly, Johnson’s PSL salary was higher than his IPL deal, as his contract with the Gladiators was worth around Rs 56 million (about Rs 1.87 crore or $200,000).
A day after his official announcement, CSK posted on X on Wednesday that the left-arm quick will join the squad between April 21 and 23. The cause is unknown. TimesofIndia.com contacted CSK Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kasi Viswanathan, but multiple calls went unanswered.Johnson has not played competitive cricket since the last IPL, where he featured for Kolkata Knight Riders. He was hired by KKR for Rs 2.80 crore, and the fast bowler played four matches, picking up just one wicket. He was later released ahead of the 2026 mini auction.On the eve of the Sheffield Shield final against Victoria, former Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris, now coach of South Australia, provided an update on Johnson.“Spencer is bouncing around a bit,” Harris said, referring to his withdrawal from the PSL and then joining the IPL.“He got some good news, I think four or five days ago, about his back,” Harris said. “Finally, the crack in his back is healed. It has been a very frustrating eight to ten months. So the good news is that he is bowling back. He is rebuilding.“IPL, I think there could be an opportunity. We’re still waiting to see what happens there. He’s obviously going to have to bowl a lot before he comes back to competitive cricket. So we’re working on that as we speak.“But it will be good to see Spence playing cricket again. He has obviously had a run of bad luck in the last couple of years.”
He feels that even though he is only going 60 percent, the ball is coming out well. He is bowling more and trying to strengthen. Now it’s about getting enough bowling load into his body to allow him to play.
Ryan Harris | Coach of South Australia
Johnson, who has played five ODIs and eight T20Is for Australia, is recovering from a back injury.Harris also revealed that the fast bowler has resumed bowling but is currently working at half-speed, and is working on tweaking his action to stay fit.“We’ve been doing this since he was able to rotate his arm,” Harris said.“We’re just changing a couple of things, and he’s doing really well. He had a bowl yesterday. I wasn’t there, but I checked out some of the videos. We’re very conscious of what he’s trying to achieve, trying to straighten him out a little bit and take some of the pressure off his back.“But he’s done it really well. He feels like even though he’s only going at 60 per cent, the ball is coming out well. As we’re talking, he’s bowling more and trying to get stronger. He’s got enough bowling load in his body now to allow him to play.”
Poll
Is it a wise decision for CSK to replace Nathan Ellis with another injured player?
Only time will tell if the Australian speedster will reach peak fitness by the time he joins the CSK squad, but it is interesting to see the IPL team replace one injured player with another.TimesofIndia.com has learned that the supply of available players has been affected, as several unsold cricketers in the IPL mini auction are currently playing in the PSL.Johnson became the third player after Zimbabwe’s Blessing Mudarabani and Sri Lanka’s Dasan Shanaka to sign an IPL contract despite being contracted in the PSL. However, with Bangladeshi players not being considered and IPL teams reluctant to take players from associate countries, franchises are struggling to find alternatives.CSK will begin their campaign in IPL 2026 against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on March 30.
