Ayush Mhatre has torn his left hamstring, and it's a hammer blow for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who had begun to depend on 18-year-old for good, positive start in what has been a patchy IPL 2026 for the team so far.
Mhatre, who had come in as an impact sub for Gurjapneet Singh, walked out in the second over of CSK's chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday night at the fall of Sanju Samson, and looked in excellent touch as he raced to 30 in 12 balls, when he stopped after running a two and clutched his hamstring. He flung off his helmet and looked in pain and needed attention from Taifun Simsek, the physiotherapist.
Mhatre carried on after lengthy on-field treatment and almost hobbled from end to end as he and Ruturaj Gaikwad took a run off the following delivery, from Nitish Kumar Reddy, but then flayed the next ball to extra cover, where Heinrich Klaasen held on to a screamer.
"Obviously a hamstring tear. I don't know how bad it is. I'm sure we'll scan him probably tomorrow or the next day," Mike Hussey, the CSK batting coach, said at the press conference after the game. "It looks pretty bad, unfortunately. And he's going to be a big, big loss because he's been in really nice touch for us."
Mhatre has been CSK's best batter this season so far, the 30 he scored on Saturday taking his tally for the season up to 201 runs, scored at a strike rate of 177.87. Urvil Patel, who scored 68 runs at a strike rate of 212.50 in three appearances for CSK last season, is on the bench, and might be Mhatre's replacement if the team wants a pure batter.
"He's an exciting young talent, but it's going to give someone else an opportunity. So that's exciting as well," Hussey said. "We've got some really good players that haven't been able to get an opportunity. And so it's going to be exciting for one of those guys.
"So, as much as we're really disappointed to lose Ayush - I don't know how long for - it's exciting for a new player to come in and get a chance."
Till the scans take place, it won't be clear how long Mhatre might be out for, but a hamstring tear could take up to six months to mend depending on what grade it is.
"I mean, it's hard to say," Hussey said. "He didn't last too many balls after the injury, Ayush. But yeah, it's obviously going to affect his batting because he was hitting the ball so well and scoring boundaries almost at will. So it's definitely going to have an effect for sure."
'It was shocking' - Ashwin unhappy with how CSK handled Mhatre
R Ashwin, the former CSK stalwart, was unhappy with how CSK had dealt with Mhatre's injury, both during the game and in the lead-up to it.
"I hope he is back. But by the look of it, I fear he will be out for a while," R Ashwin said on his YouTube show. "While coming into bat, he came with a strap on his knee. For two-three matches now, he has been playing as the impact sub. His injury has been a concern.
"It couldn't have been a cramp because he did not field at all. If he had cramps when not fielding, we have to look at his hydration. Okay, let's assume it was an injury. The physios have gone out and checked him. He was limping, but you are asking him to play another ball and making him run between wickets.
"I couldn't understand [that]. Should he have not retired out when he was limping? I don't understand how they can handle him so carelessly. It was shocking."
CSK went on to lose the match by ten runs and are currently at No. 7 on the points table with two wins from six games.
