CSK suffer huge blow!! ₹14.20 crore star injured just before IPL 2026
Published - 20 Feb 2026, 10:28 AM | Updated - 20 Feb 2026, 11:34 PM
Table of Contents
Kartik Sharma set to miss IPL?: The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is just a month away. Teams have already set up their camps at various venues to prepare for the toughest T20 league, which is set to run for a couple of months. Ahead of the IPL, there has been some injury news coming from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp.
Kartik, who is a flamboyant wicket-keeper batter from Rajasthan, will be representing the Men in Yellow in this edition of the IPL. However, Kartik has picked up an injury while playing in a local tournament in the Mewar Cup. He was seen walking off the field with support while he was batting on 39(14). The incident occurred before the 8.4 ball of the match.
Kartik Sharma to miss IPL
After striking three fours in the first three balls of Vipraj Nigam, he lay down inside the ground and had some issues with his back as the physio came running in. The seriousness of the injury has not been confirmed yet; whether it's a minor injury or he retired on his own to give other batters a chance is not confirmed.
Here's the video
Kartik Sharma injured his back, mostly a sprain during today's match. Things look quite nasty from this clip but hopefully he'll fit by IPL's time pic.twitter.com/6MU4h0AvQa
— Abhi⚒️ (@abhi_backup07) February 19, 2026
Kartik Sharma was picked for a price of INR 14.20 crore during the auction last year in December. He, along with Prashant Veer, became the joint-most expensive uncapped players in the history of the IPL Auction. Kartik Sharma came into notice for his explosive lower-order batting in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 group stage, where he scored 133 runs in 5 matches.
Can Kartik Sharma solve CSK's lower-order batting?
Kartik has featured in 12 T20s and has been quite consistent with a strike rate above 160. He was picked with MS Dhoni being 44, and his participation in the full tournament will be a question; the CSK franchise wants the young keeper-batter to get groomed under one of the best wicket-keeper batters in world cricket.
The Chennai Super Kings have been struggling in the IPL for the last few seasons. They finished at the bottom of the table in the previous edition of the league. In 2024, they failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing fifth in the points table with the same points as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) but had a poor run rate.
CSK under transformation
In the auction, CSK made history for the first time picking up Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, as for the first time they invested such a large amount in the uncapped Indian players, going out from their regular auction strategy, where they used to invest in experienced players.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who leads this side, has been under transformation as they let go of their veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, in trade with Sanju Samson with the Rajasthan Royals.
| Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – IPL 2026 Squad | |
No. | Player |
| 1 | Ruturaj Gaikwad (c) |
| 2 | Sanju Samson |
| 3 | MS Dhoni |
| 4 | Ayush Mhatre |
| 5 | Dewald Brewis |
| 6 | Shivam Dube |
| 7 | Urvil Patel |
| 8 | Noor Ahmad |
| 9 | Nathan Ellis |
| 10 | Shreyas Gopal |
| 11 | Khaleel Ahmed |
| 12 | Ramakrishna Ghosh |
| 13 | Mukesh Choudhary |
| 14 | Jamie Overton |
| 15 | Gurjapneet Singh |
| 16 | Anshul Kamboj |
| 17 | Akeal Hosein |
| 18 | Prashant Veer |
| 19 | Kartik Sharma |
| 20 | Matthew Short |
| 21 | Aman Khan |
| 22 | Sarfaraz Khan |
| 23 | Matt Henry |
| 24 | Rahul Chahar |
| 25 | Zak Foulkes |
Also Read: Pakistan cricketers facing global ban! Full list of leagues where Indian owners are shutting doors
About the Author
This author is a member of Cricketaddictor who writes news and analysis related to cricket.
