Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have brought in Australia left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson as a replacement for the injured Nathan Ellis for IPL 2026. Johnson will join CSK for INR 1.5 crore with Ellis ruled out the tournament after he aggravated an old hamstring injury in the domestic One-Day Cup final on March 11.

Johnson, 30, has represented Australia in five ODIs and eight T20Is, and has overall played 71 T20s. He, however, hasn't played top-flight cricket since the IPL last year, when he suffered a back injury and was subsequently ruled out of the BBL and the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Johnson has played in the IPL before, representing Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2024 and 2025, respectively. He was a big surprise buy during the accelerated round towards the end of the 2024 auction, going for INR 10 crore to Titans having entered the auction at a base price of INR 50 lakh. He picked up four wickets in five matches that season, and in the 2025 season, where KKR bought him for INR 2.80 crore, he took one wicket in four matches. He was released by KKR ahead of the 2026 auction, where he went unsold.