Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin went gaga over Nathan Ellis, the Australian speedster who is set to represent the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 edition. The pacer was retained by the five-time champions ahead of the mini-auction, and Ellis is now showing that he’s set to repay the faith. The right-arm quick has been in exceptional form and has already become a consistent starter in the Australian T20I playing XI as well.
On Monday, Ellis returned with figures of 3/30 in his quota of four overs for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League (BBL) match against the Melbourne Renegades at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. This performance helped the hosts restrict the opponents to 162/9 in the allotted twenty overs.
Ellis bowled at the death as well, and CSK are now most likely to use him in the specialised role, considering there would be no Matheesha Pathirana. Ashwin believes that the ‘Men in Yellow’ will be truly happy to see how Ellis is coming along, considering how he has mastered bowling yorkers and changing his pace to confuse the batters.
“The men in yellove will be happy with how he’s been shaping up. 4-0-30-3 for Hobart Hurricanes today. Most importantly, 2-0-15-2 at the death, bowling 17 and 20, nailing his yorkers and change of pace,” Ashwin wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Safe to say two overs of Ellis are locked at the ‘Pauk’ in the death for the summer of 26?” he added.
It is worth noting that Ellis was acquired by CSK for INR 2 crore prior to the IPL 2025 season. He only played one game for the team in this year’s edition of the tournament, returning with just one wicket. Prior to the 2025 season with CSK, Ellis spent four years at Punjab Kings, playing 16 matches and taking 18 wickets.
CSK finished at the bottom of the points table for the first time in history earlier this year, and the side will hope to once again make it to the playoffs in the 2026 season.
Hobart Hurricanes win
Speaking of the match between the Hurricanes and the Renegades, the former came out on top by four wickets and one over to spare. Matthew Wade hit an unbeaten 43 off 20 balls with two fours and four sixes to help the Hobart Hurricanes cruise home.
With this win, the Hurricanes consolidated their second spot in the standings with 8 points from 5 games. The team will next square off against the Perth Scorchers on Thursday, January 1.
