Recently, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) officially clarified that the franchise followed the legal methods to sign South African batter Dewald Brevis as a replacement in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. This clarification follows the comments of former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Earlier, Ashwin said that CSK was ready to spend extra cash to secure Brevis’s services. However, the 38-year-old’s remarks spread like wildfire and ignited debates in the cricket world on whether the five-time champions made a legitimate move or not.
Did CSK Sign Brevis Higher than His Base Price?
Dewald Brevis, who was unsold for his base price of INR 75 lakh in the mega auction, was acquired by CSK for INR 2.2 crore on April 18, 2025, to replace the injured player Gurjapneet Singh.
Ashwin’s Opinion About Brevis Deal in IPL 2025
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin opened up on CSK’s deal to acquire Brevis in IPL 2025:
“See! I want to mention something important about Brevis. We all know that he had a great campaign with CSK in the last IPL season. Moreover, a few teams were speaking about him.
Few teams ignored him because of his price. But when he was all set to be hired in as a replacement, he was supposed to be signed for his base price. This is what happens when you discuss with the agents and the player will respond saying ‘I will come and play only if you pay me with a particular extra amount,” the off-spinner said.
CSK’s Response to Ashwin’s Comments: An Official Statement
The Chennai-based franchise claimed the rumors to be baseless by providing an official statement explaining that Brevis was signed under clause 6.6 of the IPL player regulations, and his price wasn’t higher than the injured player’s auction price:
“This is to formally clarify that the actions taken by the Chennai Super Kings franchise during the signing process of Dewald Brevis were in full adherence to the player replacement rules and regulations of IPL 2025-27.
Under Clause 6.6, Brevis was signed for INR 2.2 crore in April 2025 to replace the injured player Gurjapneet Singh, who was acquired in the IPL 2025 mega auction held in Saudi Arabia for INR 2.2 Crore,” CSK’s statement clarified the facts.
How CSK Followed IPL Rules and Regulations to Sign Brevis?
Following Ashwin’s comments, CSK released an official statement specifying clause 6.6 under the player replacement rule, which states that:
- Suppose a team signs a replacement player as per the 6.1 or 6.2 rules, then the League Fees paid should not be more than what has been paid to the original player who is injured or unavailable throughout the season. In simpler terms, the signing amount of the replacement player can be equal to or lower than the injured player.
- If a replacement player joins the team in the middle of the season, the fees paid to him will be less for missing some matches before becoming part of the team. Also, there might be other deductions mentioned as per the player’s contract.
So, it becomes clear that the Super Kings signed Brevis for INR 2.2 Crores, which was exactly the IPL salary of Gurjapneet Singh.
In other words, the franchise followed the IPL rules and regulations 2025-27, by not paying any extra fees to acquire the 22-year-old and strictly adhered to the IPL’s player replacement rules.
Former CSK Batter Slammed Ashwin’s Comments
Anirudha Srikkanth, the former CSK batter, lashed out at Ashwin for publicly revealing the confidential details of the franchise and delving much deeper into Brevis’ IPL contract:
“Look! I feel very wrong about what Ashwin spoke about on his YouTube channel about Brevis’ contract. This can lead to several problems, as he is currently a player on the same team and spoke about another player’s contract.
Although the discussion might be different, it can lead to huge issues. And because of his comments, CSK had to strongly release an official statement to calm the fans, stating: Don’t worry. This player will be part of our team for the next two years,” Anirudha said.
Ashwin’s Response to the Criticism
Amidst the increasing criticism, Ashwin clarified that he intended to speak about Brevis’ batting skills rather than his IPL contract:
“See! My intention in the previous video was to discuss Brevis’ batting and not the amount he was signed for IPL 2025. We need to understand the fact that every player participating in the IPL will certainly be contracted with the franchise and the tournament. And if anything goes wrong, it won’t be approved.
My discussion was purely related to his batting and not about his salary. In the modern world, it becomes important to clarify what is right and wrong. Overall, I wanted to convey that the franchise, player, or governing body hasn’t committed any mistake at all,” Ashwin said.
Conclusion
The discussions related to Dewald Brevis’ IPL contract have become a hot topic of discussion following his performance in the 3-match T20I series in the ongoing Australian tour. The right-handed batter was the leading run-scorer in the 20-over series, having scored 180 runs in 3 innings, averaging at 90.00, which includes a century and a half-century.
Also, Brevis became the talk of the town when he recorded his career-best 56-ball 125-run knock against the Aussies in the 2nd T20I. This was indeed his maiden T20I century, which left every CSK and South African fan in a state of celebration.
The Proteas youngster had a memorable IPL debut representing CSK, having scored 225 runs in 6 innings at a strike rate of 180. His current form ignites hopes to play an important role for the team in the forthcoming editions of the rich-cash league.