Key Points

Earlier this week on his YouTube channel, Ashwin had claimed that when Brevis was to be signed as a replacement, he was supposed to be signed at the base price, but was paid an extra amount to play in IPL 2025.

“I will tell you something. About Brevis. He had a great time last IPL with CSK. In fact, a few teams were talking to him. A few teams left him because of the price. When he was supposed to be signed as a replacement, he was supposed to be signed at the base price. But what happens is you talk to the agents and the player will say, if you give me X amount extra, I will come,” Ashwin had said.

CSK, however, issued clarification on Saturday that Brevis' signing was done in accordance with IPL rules and regulations and that the batter was not offered more than the official figure stated in the advisory on April 18. Brevis had joined CSK for Rs 2.2 crore, as a replacement for injured fast bowler Gurjapneet Singh.

“Chennai Super Kings categorically clarifies that all actions taken by the franchise during the signing process of Dewald Brevis as a Replacement Player during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 were in complete compliance with the rules and regulations of IPL," CSK said on Saturday.

Now, reacting to CSK's statement, Ashwin said that the franchise clarified the situation because many people had doubts about Brevis's signing price.

"We live in such times where we have to clarify even true stories. In that way, it is a bit tricky. But I won’t go there. There is no one at fault here. The clarification here on this matter has arisen from the fact that a lot of people have doubts. The point is the player is not at fault, the franchise is not at fault, and maybe the governing body is also not at fault.

"All of us need to understand that if a franchise needs a player, the franchise talks to the player or the player’s agent and tells the BCCI, ‘Look, so-and-so player of ours is injured, we need another player. ’ The matter gets closed there,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"My intention in the video was to describe how well Brevis was batting. We have to understand that every player who plays in the IPL has a tri-parted contract; The player, franchise, and the IPL have a binding contract.”

“So if something is wrong with it, it won’t get ratified. That is why, probably, the tweet that said clause so-and-so makes complete sense. The flexibility that is there with the IPL’s injury replacement, everyone is making use of it.

"It is not only CSK who have picked a replacement; there have been several other teams. RCB have taken Chris Gayle in the past, and he became a superstar. Injury replacements are a common facet of the IPL, and even in that, the rule flexibility that you have, how you make use of that, within the limit, you can use it. That is the point," he added.

Brevis, who had come in as a mid-season replacement, went on to make 225 runs in six innings in IPL 2025 for CSK, who finished at tenth place in the points table.

- IANS