Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has wondered whether the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) took advantage of a loophole in the player replacement rules while buying Dewald Brevis during IPL 2025 as well. He also added that Ravichandran Ashwin has shared that the South African youngster had negotiated a deal with the franchise above his base price as well. Notably, CSK acquired Brevis for ₹2.20 crore as an injury replacement for Gurjapneet Singh during IPL 2025 as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “The Chennai Super Kings’ season was going absolutely ordinary. The batters weren’t scoring runs, and people were getting injured. They needed mid-season replacements to either resurrect the season or prepare for the next season. In such a scenario, Dewald Brevis came and shone.”

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“He didn’t play the first match, but after that, he batted extremely well and took an incredible catch on the boundary. Ashwin has disclosed that he asked for more money. Is there any provision to give him more money than he should have gotten officially? In such a case, can the purse limit be broken? Is there a loophole there, which Ashwin has highlighted?” he again added.

However, Aakash Chopra also opined that CSK have exploited a loophole if they have bought Dewald Brevis for more than ₹2.20 crore.

“You get your total salary on a pro-rata basis. It cannot be lower than your base price. In Dewald Brevis’ case, it couldn’t have been lower than ₹75 lakh, and couldn’t have been above ₹2.20 crore, the salary of Gurjapneet Singh. Ashwin is saying that players ask for more money, and according to him, the Chennai Super Kings agreed as well. Since Ashwin has said it, I believe Brevis would have asked for more money. In case you have given more than ₹2.20 crore, as it’s a plan for next year, if there was a loophole, you have exploited it,” Aakash Chopra concluded.