Kuldip Yadav in for Khaleel; Gleeson for Thushara

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have each picked injury replacements for Khaleel Ahmed and Nuwan Thushara respectively.

Kuldip Yadav joins CSK as a replacement for Khaleel, who was ruled out of the tournament mid-April due to a quad injury. Kuldip joins them for INR 30 lakh. The 29-year-old medium pacer has previously featured for Rajasthan Royals, playing three games for them across 2021 and 2023. Those are the only T20s he has played so far.

Khaleel played five games for CSK this season, picking up two wickets, but got injured in a game against Kolkata Knight Riders, failing to bowl the last ball of his spell. CSK have endured a barrage of injuries this season, with Jamie Overton being the recent-most victim.

RCB have replaced Nuwan Thushara, also out of the competition, with England seamer Richard Gleeson. He joins the defending champions for a fee of INR 1.6 crore.

Thushara, who played one game for RCB last year, did not feature in IPL 2026 before he was ruled out.

The 38-year-old Gleeson debuted for England in 2022, and played six T20Is for them, taking nine wickets. He has taken 170 wickets in 145 T20s, and also featured in two seasons of the IPL. In 2024, he turned out for CSK, taking one wicket in two games. Last year, he was with MI, picking one wicket in a solitary appearance.