IPL 2026: CSK’s bowling frailties lay bare cracks in faltering campaign

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have again got their Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026) campaign off to a forgettable start, having lost their first three fixtures of the season. While after the first game, it seemed that CSK’s issues from last year - where they failed to adapt to the modern standards of batting - had resurfaced, their bowling has also disappointed the five-time champions this season.

Much of CSK’s bowling plans were centred around fast bowler Nathan Ellis, who was retained ahead of the season for Rs 2 Crore. However, after his hamstring injury aggravated while playing the National One Day Cup, Ellis was ruled out of the season, leaving CSK staring down the barrel.

The five-time champions signed left-arm seamer Spencer Johnson as Ellis’ replacement, who’s also recovering from a back injury and is unavailable for selection for the initial few games. As a result, CSK’s planning has suffered massively with their incumbent bowlers unable to fill the gap.

Khaleel, Kamboj doing heavy lifting

Only Khaleel Ahmed has been able to control some damage, having an economy of 8.20 so far, way lower than his teammates, who’ve all leaked runs at a rate of over 11. Anshul Kamboj has emerged as the leading wicket-taker for the ‘Yellow Army’ with five scalps from three innings.

However, his economy of 11.45 is indicative of his inability to stem the run flow at the death. Kamboj’s no-ball cost CSK massively in the last fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). After getting a reprieve from Kamboj, Tim David ripped apart the CSK bowling with his belligerent innings of 70* (25), and eventually set up a comfortable win for his side.

Even a seasoned campaigner like Matt Henry has looked completely out of sorts, managing just two wickets from three matches so far at an average of 65, leaking runs at an economy of 13.

Noor Ahmad’s Dip in Form Raises Concerns

One of the most surprising aspects of CSK’s campaign has been the underperformance of the mystery spinner Noor Ahmad, who’s been unable to provide crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs. Quite surprisingly, Ahmad has remained wicketless after three games — a streak he has maintained across his last eight appearances in T20 cricket. 

The left-arm wrist spinner has scalped just six wickets from 11 innings this year in T20 matches and has a forgettable economy of 11.10 this IPL season.

Baffling underutilisation of Prashant Veer

The other striking factor from CSK’s first three matches has been no utilisation of Prashant Veer’s left-arm spin. CSK splurged a whopping Rs 14.2 crore to buy Veer at the mini auction ahead of the season, making him the joint-most expensive uncapped player in IPL along with Kartik Sharma. 

The 20-year-old was touted as the replacement for Ravindra Jadeja, who was traded to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in exchange for Sanju Samson. Veer has already shown glimpses of his batting talent, scoring 43 (29) against RCB.

However, he’s yet to bowl a single delivery, raising questions about CSK’s planning around their players. Apart from him, the experienced hand of Rahul Chahar also failed to weave his magic in his only appearance against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Gaikwad Under Scanner as CSK Search for Answers

Captain Gaikwad has also been unable to utilise all resources at his disposal, with experts even questioning his rotation of the bowlers and in-game decision-making.  All in all, CSK look in complete tatters with both of their departments failing to complement each other so far in the season.

With no clarity on Johnson’s availability, it’s up to the team management to formulate the right combination, and the current players must step up to revive their campaign. Having already suffered a hat-trick of losses, CSK are already in a precarious position and are not only at risk of another early exit from the tournament but also denting the aura that once made them the most formidable force in the IPL.