Ultimate Guide, Spencer Johnson replacement for Nathan Ellis, Australians, high-paid players, how to watch, fixtures, video

The Chennai Super Kings have signed Australian quick Spencer Johnson as a replacement player for Nathan Ellis, who has been ruled out of this year’s Indian Premier League due to injury.

Ellis, who aggravated a hamstring injury during the recent One-Day Cup final against New South Wales in Hobart, was retained by the Super Kings on a INR 2 crore (AU$300,000) deal despite only playing one match last season.

But on Tuesday, the Chennai-based franchise confirmed that Ellis had been ruled out of the T20 competition, with left-armed pacer Johnson taking his spot in the squad on a INR 1.5 crore (AU$220,000) deal.

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The 30-year-old has played five ODIs and eight T20Is for Australia since making his international debut in 2023, representing the Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders during the previous two editions of the IPL in 2024 and 2025 respectively. However, he hasn’t played any competitive cricket since April last year due to a back injury that ruled him out of the Big Bash League and T20 World Cup, going unsold during this summer’s IPL Auction.

The 19th edition of the IPL gets underway on Saturday, with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru hosting the Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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HOW TO WATCH

Every match of the 2026 Indian Premier League will be shown live and ad-break free on Foxtel and streaming platform Kayo Sports.

AUSSIES IN ACTION

All salaries in AUD

Cameron Green, Kolkata Knight Riders — $4.17 million

Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad — $3.67 million

Travis Head, Sunrisers Hyderabad — $2.5 million

Josh Hazlewood, Royal Challengers Bengaluru — $2.29 million

Mitchell Starc, Delhi Capitals — $2.15 million

Marcus Stoinis, Punjab Kings — $2 million

Josh Inglis, Lucknow Super Giants — $1.4 million

Ben Dwarshuis, Punjab Kings — $729,000

Mitchell Marsh, Lucknow Super Giants — $620,000

Cooper Connolly, Punjab Kings — $497,000

Jack Edwards, Sunrisers Hyderabad — $497,000

Mitchell Owen, Punjab Kings — $497,000

Tim David, Royal Challengers Bengaluru — $497,000

Matthew Short, Chennai Super Kings — $249,000

Spencer Johnson, Chennai Super Kings — $220,000 (replacement player for Nathan Ellis)

Xavier Bartlett, Punjab Kings — $122,000

BIGGEST AUCTION SIGNINGS

Cameron Green (AUS) to Kolkata Knight Riders for 25.2 crore (AU$4.17 million)

Matheesha Pathirana (SL) to Kolkata Knight Riders for 18 crore (AU$2.98 million)

Prashant Veer (IND) to Chennai Super Kings for 14.2 crore (AU$2.35 million)

Kartik Sharma (IND) to Chennai Super Kings for 14.2 crore (AU$2.35 million)

Liam Livingstone (ENG) to Sunrisers Hyderabad for 13 crore (AU$2.15 million)

FIXTURES

All times local, full fixture list yet to be confirmed

March 28, Saturday – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 7:30pm in Bengaluru

March 29, Sunday – Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 7:30pm in Mumbai

March 30, Monday – Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings, 7:30pm in Guwahati

March 31, Tuesday – Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans, 7:30pm in Mullanpur

April 1, Wednesday – Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals, 7:30pm in Lucknow

April 2, Thursday – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 7:30pm in Kolkata

April 3, Friday – Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings, 7:30pm in Chennai

April 4, Saturday – Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians, 3:30pm in Delhi

April 4, Saturday – Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, 7:30pm in Ahmedabad

April 5, Sunday – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants, 3:30pm in Hyderabad

April 5, Sunday – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings, 7:30pm in Bengaluru

April 6, Monday – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings, 7:30pm in Kolkata

April 7, Tuesday – Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, 7:30pm in Guwahati

April 8, Wednesday – Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Titans, 7:30pm in Delhi

April 9, Thursday – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants, 7:30pm in Kolkata

April 10, Friday – Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 7:30pm in Guwahati

April 11, Saturday – Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 3:30pm in Mullanpur

April 11, Saturday – Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals, 7:30pm in Chennai

April 12, Sunday – Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans, 3:30pm in Lucknow

April 12, Sunday – Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 7:30pm in Mumbai

April 13, Monday – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals, 7:30 pm (Hyderabad)

April 14, Tuesday – Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 7:30 pm (Chennai)

April 15, Wednesday – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Lucknow Super Giants, 7:30 pm (Bengaluru)

April 16, Thursday – Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings, 7:30 pm (Mumbai)

April 17, Friday – Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 7:30 pm (Ahmedabad)

April 18, Saturday – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals, 3:30 pm (Bengaluru)

April 18, Saturday – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings, 7:30 pm (Hyderabad)

April 19, Sunday – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, 3:30 pm (Kolkata)

April 19, Sunday – Punjab Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants, 7:30 pm (New Chandigarh)

April 20, Monday – Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians, 7:30 pm (Ahmedabad)

April 21, Tuesday – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals, 7:30 pm (Hyderabad)

April 22, Wednesday – Lucknow Super Giants vs Rajasthan Royals, 7:30 pm (Lucknow)

April 23, Thursday – Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, 7:30 pm (Mumbai)

April 24, Friday – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans, 7:30 pm (Bengaluru)

April 25, Saturday – Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings, 3:30 pm (Delhi)

April 25, Saturday – Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 7:30 pm (Jaipur)

April 26, Sunday – Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, 3:30 pm (Ahmedabad)

April 26, Sunday – Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 7:30 pm (Lucknow)

April 27, Monday – Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 7:30 pm (Delhi)

April 28, Tuesday – Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, 7:30 pm (New Chandigarh)

April 29, Wednesday – Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 7:30 pm (Mumbai)

April 30, Thursday – Gujarat Titans vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 7:30 pm (Ahmedabad)

May 1, Friday – Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Capitals, 7:30 pm (Jaipur)

May 2, Saturday – Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, 7:30 pm (Chennai)

May 3, Sunday – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 3:30 pm (Hyderabad)

May 3, Sunday – Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings, 7:30 pm (Ahmedabad)

May 4, Monday – Mumbai Indians vs Lucknow Super Giants, 7:30 pm (Mumbai)

May 5, Tuesday – Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings, 7:30 pm (Delhi)

May 6, Wednesday – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings, 7:30 pm (Hyderabad)

May 7, Thursday – Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 7:30 pm (Lucknow)

May 8, Friday – Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 7:30 pm (Delhi)

May 9, Saturday – Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans, 7:30 pm (Jaipur)

May 10, Sunday – Chennai Super Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants, 3:30 pm (Chennai)

May 10, Sunday – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians, 7:30 pm (Raipur)

May 11, Monday – Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals, 7:30 pm (Dharamshala)

May 12, Tuesday – Gujarat Titans vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 7:30 pm (Ahmedabad)

May 13, Wednesday – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 7:30 pm (Raipur)

May 14, Thursday – Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians, 7:30 pm (Dharamshala)

May 15, Friday – Lucknow Super Giants vs Chennai Super Kings, 7:30 pm (Lucknow)

May 16, Saturday – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans, 7:30 pm (Kolkata)

May 17, Sunday – Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 3:30 pm (Dharamshala)

May 17, Sunday – Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals, 7:30 pm (Delhi)

May 18, Monday – Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 7:30 pm (Chennai)

May 19, Tuesday – Rajasthan Royals vs Lucknow Super Giants, 7:30 pm (Jaipur)

May 20, Wednesday – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, 7:30 pm (Kolkata)

May 21, Thursday – Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat Titans, 7:30 pm (Chennai)

May 22, Friday – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 7:30 pm (Hyderabad)

May 23, Saturday – Lucknow Super Giants vs Punjab Kings, 7:30 pm (Lucknow)

May 24, Sunday – Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals, 3:30 pm (Mumbai)

May 24, Sunday – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals, 7:30 pm (Kolkata)

SQUADS

Chennai Super Kings

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, M.S. Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes

Rajasthan Royals

Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Donovan Ferreira, Sandeep Sharma, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Vignesh Puthur, Ravi Singh, Aman Rao, Brijesh Sharma, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen

Kolkata Knight Riders

Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Akash Deep, Blessing Muzarabani

Lucknow Super Giantts

Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Rishabh Pant (c), Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh, Mohammed Shami, Arjun Tendulkar, Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, R. Smaran, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kamindu Mendis, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivang Kumar, Salil Arora, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Krains Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards

Delhi Capitals

Nitish Rana, Abishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson

Gujarat Titans

Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Arshad Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Ashok Sharma, Jason Holder, Tom Banton, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Luke Wood

Mumbai Indians

Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickleton, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Naman Dhir, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Allah Ghafanzar, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, Shardul Thakur, Quinton de Kock, Danish Malewar, Mohammad Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat

Punjab Kings

Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyala Avinash, Harnoor Pannu, Suryansh Shedge, Mitchell Owen, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Vishnu Vinod, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Salam, Abhinandan Singh, Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Satvik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouha

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2008 — Rajasthan Royals

2009 — Deccan Chargers

2010 — Chennai Super Kings

2011 — Chennai Super Kings

2012 — Kolkata Knight Riders

2013 — Mumbai Indians

2014 — Kolkata Knight Riders

2015 — Mumbai Indians

2016 — Sunrisers Hyderabad

2017 — Mumbai Indians

2018 — Chennai Super Kings

2019 — Mumbai Indians

2020 — Mumbai Indians

2021 — Chennai Super Kings

2022 — Gujarat Titans

2023 — Chennai Super Kings

2024 — Kolkata Knights Riders

2025 — Royal Challengers Bengaluru

ODDS

viaTAB, correct as of March 27

Mumbai Indians – 4.60

Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 6.50

Gujarat Titans – 8.00

Chennai Super Kings – 8.00

Punjab Kings – 9.00

Sunrisers Hyderabad – 10.00

Kolkata Knights Riders – 11.00

Delhi Capitals -12.00

Lucknow Super Giants – 14.00

Rajasthan Royals – 15.00