Chennai Super Kings have signed Australian left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson as cover for Nathan Ellis, who is out of IPL 2026 after aggravating a hamstring injury in the domestic One-Day Cup final on March 11. There’s a catch though Johnson is coming off his own back injury that kept him out of the BBL, and CSK confirmed on X that he won’t be available until around April 21–23.
That means he’ll miss at least four games: against Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Delhi Capitals. His contract is worth INR 1.5 crore (roughly US$160,000).
The timing has an uncomfortable symmetry to it. Johnson’s last competitive game was in IPL 2025 for KKR the same stint where he first reported back pain that turned out to be a stress fracture. His South Australia coach, former Australia quick Ryan Harris, confirmed on Wednesday that the fracture has finally healed.
“He got some good news, I think four or five days ago, about his back,” Harris said. “Finally, the crack in his back has healed. He’s had quite a frustrating 8–10 months.”
Harris was cautiously optimistic about an IPL appearance but made clear Johnson still needs to build bowling load before playing competitively. Right now, he’s operating at around 60 percent pace.
“He feels like, although he’s only going about 60%, the ball’s coming out nicely,” Harris said. “It’s just now about getting bowling load into his body.”
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The pair have also been working on adjustments to Johnson’s action to reduce the strain on his back — tweaks Harris says Johnson has taken to well.
At 30, Johnson has played five ODIs and eight T20Is for Australia and has 71 T20 appearances overall. His IPL history is a bit of a rollercoaster. Gujarat Titans bought him for INR 10 crore at the 2024 auction one of the bigger surprises of that cycle, given his base price was INR 50 lakh and he took four wickets in five games. KKR picked him up for INR 2.80 crore the following year; one wicket in four matches. He was released ahead of the 2026 auction and went unsold. He had also signed with Quetta Gladiators for PSL 2026 but pulled out for personal reasons.
Ellis was retained for INR 2 crore before the last auction despite playing just one game for CSK in 2025. That retention now looks like a write-off. CSK’s overseas pace group currently has Matt Henry, Jamie Overton, and Zak Foulkes alongside Johnson. On the Indian side, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, and Mukesh Choudhary are in the mix, with allrounders Shivam Dube and Aman Khan also available as pace-bowling cover.