It’s going from bad to worse for the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as far as injuries are concerned. The U19 World Cup-winning captain, Ayush Mhatre, is set to spend a considerable amount of time on the sidelines after suffering a “hamstring tear” during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. CSK batting coach Michael Hussey didn’t confirm whether Mhatre has been ruled out of the tournament, but his tone did suggest that the right-handed batter is all set to miss the next few games even if he doesn’t miss out on the entire competition.
Mhatre pulled his hamstring after the second delivery of the fifth over during the CSK’s batting innings. The incident happened when he was trying to get back for the second run. He slowed down when he was near the non-striker’s end and rather gave up. He survived and made his ground, but the physio came running out immediately. He then opted to bat on and not go off, and eventually, he lost his wicket a couple of deliveries later.
After losing his wicket, Mhatre was unable to walk by himself to the dugout, and he had to be taken off the field by Ramakrishna Ghosh and the physio. His pads were taken by Ghosh and Tommy Simsek, the physio.
“It’s a hamstring tear. Don’t know how bad it is. We’ll scan him probably tomorrow or the next day. I’m not sure, but yes, it looks pretty bad. Unfortunately, he’s going to be a big loss because he has been in nice touch,” Hussey told reporters.
“He is an exciting young talent, but it is going to give someone else an opportunity, so that’s exciting as well. We have got some really good players that haven’t gotten an opportunity, so it’s going to be exciting for one of those guys. As much as we are really disappointed to lose Ayush, I don’t know for how long, but it’s exciting for a new player to come in and get a chance,” he added.
CSK lose again
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side lost against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs after the five-time champions failed to chase the target of 195. Mhatre gave CSK a flying start in the chase as he hammered 30 runs off 13 balls. However, his dismissal led to the downfall, and in the end, the team fell 10 runs short.
Skipper Gaikwad once again failed to get among the runs as he returned with just 18 runs off 13 balls. CSK continue to languish at the eighth spot in the points table with just 4 points from six matches.
CSK have already lost Khaleel Ahmed to an injury. The left-arm pacer was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament earlier this week. The franchise lost Nathan Ellis too before the start of the competition.