Ayush Mhatre ruled out of IPL 2026! CSK coach provides official update

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is threatened to be hit by another injury blow in the ongoing IPL 2026 season, this time in the form of their emerging star Ayush Mhatre. The rising talent was spotted limping on the ground while chasing a target of 195 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday, April 18.

After the match, CSK coach Michael Hussey shared a worrying update about the injury of Ayush Mhatre. His injury could be serious, as Hussey informed in the post-match press conference.

CSK batting coach provides major update on Ayush Mhatre

Ayush Mhatre is one of the key pieces of the Chennai Super Kings in 2026. Since joining the team last year, the Under-19 Team India captain has been shining for the IPL team. In this season too, he is in good form for the Chennai Super Kings. But the fresh injury scare is likely to be a massive blow for the team, which is situated in the bottom half of the points table.

After the match, Hussey mentioned that Ayush has sustained a hamstring injury. He will go under a medical scan, and after that, the team management will have a clear idea of how bad the injury is. But it could be a huge loss for the team.

"Ayush Mhatre has a hamstring tear, I don't know how bad it is - we will have a scan, but it looks really bad, unfortunately, could be a big loss," Michael Hussey said.

The batter was visibly in discomfort during the run chase

The top order batter was limping while running between the wickets and was visibly in discomfort. But, taking everyone by surprise, the management allowed him to carry on instead of taking precautionary measures. Mhatre did well in his short cameo, scoring 30 runs in 13 balls with five 4s and one 6 before losing his wicket to Nitish Kumar Reddy.

The physio came into the field and checked the batter as well, and then allowed the batter to face deliveries. As the batter was struggling, the decision taken by the CSK management caught the cricket fans and some of the cricket experts as well.

Ravichandran Ashwin blasted CSK management for allowing Mhatre to continue batting

“While coming into bat, he came with a strap on his knee. For 2-3 matches, he has been playing as Impact Sub. People are asking, ‘Why is he an Impact Player? Is he not a good fielder? His injury has been a concern,” former CSK player Ravichandran Ashwin discussed the matter during an online interaction.

“It couldn’t have been a cramp because he did not field at all. Even if he had gotten cramps even when not fielding, then we have to look at his hydration. Okay, it’s not a cramp. Let’s assume it was an injury. Your physios have come in and checked him. He was limping badly, you are asking him to play another ball and making him run between wickets,” Ashwin slammed the management for mishandling the injury of Ayush Mhatre.

With Ayush Mhatre on the field, CSK got a flying start despite giving away two early wickets in the form of Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Mhatre and Matt Short tried to stabilize the run chase. Due to a lack of long-standing knocks from the other batters of the team, SRH restricted CSK to 184 runs in 20 overs.

Read More: IPL Points Table 2026: Updated Standings, Orange Cap, Purple Cap After SRH vs CSK Match 27