Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) star left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 due to quadriceps injury. Khaleel complained of pain in his right hip and couldn’t complete his fourth over in the clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 14.
Sports Tak has learnt that Khaleel has suffered a grade 2 tear. Also, he suffered a high grade stretch injury of the right rectos femoris indirect head tendon origin. There is a complete tear of the direct head of the muscle.
The 28-year-old will undergo rehabilitation for a minimum of 10 to 12 weeks (nearly three months).
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The 28-year-old had claimed two wickets from five games in the ongoing season at an average of 73. His economy rate is 8.67 runs per over.
Khaleel was retained by CSK for Rs 4.8 crore. In his absence, Gurjapneet Singh and Anshul Kamboj will play a bigger role alongside English pace-bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton.
CSK's injury list gets longer
CSK's fast-bowling stocks are already depleted with Nathan Ellis injured, Matt Henry out of form and Spencer Johnson yet to join the squad. If Mukesh Choudhary is fit, he can replace Khaleel in the side. Among all-rounders, Ramakrishna Ghosh can pace as well.
It is yet to be seen who replaces Khaleel in the lineup when they go up against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 18 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Meanwhile, 44-year-old wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni is yet to regain fitness. As per reports, he is likely to play in the clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 23.
Former CSK off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had criticised CSK's injury management after the game against KKR.
“If Khaleel Ahmed is injured and ruled out of the tournament, CSK need to think seriously about this. How are so many injuries happening in one season? What are the injury management and medical teams doing?” Ashwin had said on his YouTube channel 'Ash Ki Baat'.