Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday named the injury replacement for Khaleel Ahmed, after the left-arm pacer was ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season due to a right quadricep injury. Khaleel suffered the setback during the match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The incident happened during CSK’s bowling innings and Khaleel was spotted clutching his right leg in visible pain, and eventually he had to walk off the field.
Khaleel was ruled out of the tournament on April 16, and a month later, the five-time champions have finally named a replacement. CSK have brought India pacer Kuldip Yadav on board for INR 30 lakh.
Speaking of Kuldip, he made his IPL debut for the Rajasthan Royals in 2021 and featured in three games for the franchise. The signing of Kuldip was made by CSK just hours before the crucial IPL 2026 match against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana on Friday, May 15.
On the other hand, RCB have also at last named a replacement for Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Thushara. The speedster did not play a single IPL 2026 match for the defending champions as he was not given an NOC by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
RCB have brought Richard Gleeson on board for INR 1.6 crore. The English speedster has featured in six T20I games for his country, taking 9 wickets. He represented CSK and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2024 and 2025 editions of the league, featuring in 2 games for CSK and one for MI respectively.
Rachin Ravindra heads home
On Friday afternoon, the KKR media team also confirmed that batting all-rounder Rachin Ravindra has flown back home to prepare for the upcoming three-match Test series between England and New Zealand.
“Rachin Ravindra has returned home to begin his red-ball preparations for New Zealand’s upcoming Test tour to England,” the KKR statement said.
The IPL 2026 is heating up and there’s quite a battle going on between teams for the top four spot. The things have become interesting after Punjab Kings’ loss in five consecutive games. CSK have a chance of entering the top four on Friday if they are able to beat LSG at the Ekana.
Currently, RCB are at the top of the standings with 16 points in 12 matches, and they are followed by the Gujarat Titans, who have the same number of points.