Australian pacer who pulled out of PSL for personal reasons, joins CSK as replacement for IPL 2026

CSK announce the replacement for the injured Nathan Ellis for the IPL 2026 season.

Updated on: Mar 24, 2026, 18:29:11 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

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Australian pacer Spencer Johnson, who pulled out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 a few days ago due to personal reasons, has now joined the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The development was confirmed by the five-time champions on Tuesday. Johnson will join the franchise as the replacement for the injured Nathan Ellis.

Spencer Johnson will play for CSK in IPL 2026. (AFP)

The left-arm pacer will join CSK for INR 1.5 Crore as a replacement for Ellis. Johnson, who has played 13 international games – 5 ODIs and 8 T20Is – for Australia & has 18 international wickets against his name, has previously represented Gujarat Titans (GT) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL.

Johnson was scheduled to play for the Quetta Gladiators in the PSL 2026 edition; however, he pulled out of the tournament on March 15 due to personal reasons.

Also Read: MS Dhoni told ‘time to hang up your boots’ if you play as impact player in IPL 2026: ‘You don’t run team from dugout'

The 30-year-old is the latest overseas star to ditch the PSL for the IPL 2026 season. Earlier, Blessing Muzarabani and Dasun Shanaka had pulled out of their deals in the Pakistan Super League at the last minute after being named as replacement players by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Rajasthan Royals.

PCB to take action

A few days back, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi had threatened legal action against the international players ditching the PSL at the last minute after getting a gig in the IPL. Last year, the PCB initiated legal proceedings against South African pacer Corbin Bosch after he joined the Mumbai Indians as a replacement player. He was then banned by the PCB for one year from playing in the PSL.

“We will take action against those players according to the rules. There was a case last year too, and the same thing will happen this time,” Naqvi told reporters on March 22.

“Clashing with the IPL is not an issue because if players are going there, we're getting excellent players coming here as well. We could not afford to postpone the PSL because we have no other window all year,” he added.

The PSL 2026 season will start on March 26, two days before the 19th edition of the IPL.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

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