Left-arm Australian pacer Spencer Johnson has been added to the squad as a replacement for the injured pacer and his Australian teammate, Nathan Ellis, by the Chennai Super Kings. Ellis won’t be available for the 19th edition of the IPL due to a hamstring injury. As per reports, CSK confirmed through an X post that Johnson will join the CSK squad between  April 21 and 23.

Johnson played his last match for KKR during last year's IPL, where he suffered a back injury and a stress fracture. CSK bought Johnson for INR 1.5 crore. The 30-year-old pacer has represented Australia in 5 ODIs, 8 T20Is and played 71 T20S. He has claimed 13 wickets in his T20I career so far.

Alterations in Spencer Johnson’s bowling action

Former Australian pacer Ryan Harris, who is also the coach of Spencer Johnson at South Australia, stated that the pacer’s back injury has recovered, and he can bowl again.

Harris stated that Johnson needs to make alterations in his bowling action so that his back injury doesn’t aggravate. Harris stated that he has done some video analysis of his bowling action, and he is trying to smoothen his bowling action by straightening his arm so that it won’t affect his back.

Johnson was bought by the Gujarat Titans during the 2024 season for a sum of INR 10 crores, surprising everyone in the cricketing circles. He claimed 4 wickets in 5 matches in that season.

The pacer was bought by KKR during the 2025 season for a sum of INR 2.8 crore. The 30-year-old claimed 1 wicket in 4 games in that season. Johnson was bought by Quetta Gladiators for the upcoming PSL season, but refused to play in the tournament at the last moment due to personal reasons.

 Initially, Johnson went unsold during the 2026 IPL auctions after KKR released him. CSK has an impressive line-up of pacers consisting of Matt Henry, Jamie Overton, Anshul Kamboj, Zak Foulkes, Gurjapneet Sigh, Mukesh Choudhary, and Khaleel Ahmed. Additionally, India all-rounder Shivam Dube is another option who can provide heft as a pacer.