R Ashwin has clarified his stance on the controversy surrounding Chennai Super Kings' signing of Dewald Brevis, attributing it to "clickbait reporting".
What sparked the controversy?
Brevis was signed as an injury replacement by the Chennai Super Kings during the 2025 IPL season. Despite going unsold in the auction at his base price of INR 75 lakh, he later replaced an injured Gurjapneet Singh for INR 2.2 crore. Ashwin suggested that CSK paid "extra money" to secure the South African sensation, implying the "sum of money" was decided through negotiations.
"Dewald Brevis had a great time in the IPL last year after CSK got him in the back half of the season," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"I even heard that two-three teams were also talking to him but they had to let him go after not being able to pay extra money. He had a base price in the auction but discussions and negotiations would have happened with his agent, that 'I'll join the team only for a certain sum of money'."
What was CSK's response?
After Ashwin’s comments, CSK issued an official statement clarifying that all actions during Brevis’ signing "were in complete compliance with the rules and regulations of IPL".
"A replacement Player signed pursuant to either paragraph 6.1 or 6.2 can be recruited at a League Fee which shall not be more than the League Fee that would have been payable to the injured/unavailable Player for the relevant Season," CSK quoted clause 6.6 of IPL Player Regulations 2025-27 dealing with players' replacements.
"If a Replacement Player is recruited during a Season, the League Fee actually paid to him will be reduced to take account of the Franchisee’s matches during the relevant Season which took place before he was registered and any other relevant deductions under the Player Contract."
🚨OFFICIAL STATEMENT🚨
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) August 16, 2025
Dewald Brevis signed as per the IPL Player Regulations 2025-2027, clause 6.6 under Replacement Players.
Ashwin clarifies: CSK signing Brevis was a masterstroke
As controversy brewed, Ashwin clarified his stance, stating that his comments were taken out of context. He reiterated that CSK's signing of Brevis was a "masterstroke".
"See, this is a world of clickbait, and let me clarify once again what I had told in that previous video: I'd said that Brevis is playing at a different level right now, and it is a terrific signing by CSK," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"I said that CSK closed a deal that many other teams couldn't. Ideally, if there was honesty and ethics in reporting, the next day's headlines should have read: 'CSK's masterstroke in signing Dewald Brevis at the right time'. This should have been the headline.
"If people had watched the entire video, I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be any loose comments on this front. And I am not bothered by the ones who didn't watch the video in its entirety and yet have scathing comments.
"Let's go back in time and see how Gayle was bought by RCB in very similar fashion. They signed him for his base price. And this is something that happens consistently in various teams."
"First of all, speculations are just speculations. I have no clue about them. I didn't speak about money at all. I never spoke about what rate Dewald Brevis was signed for because I simply don't know. What I know is that a few teams were invested in Brevis, but it was CSK who finally signed him. Yet again, I'm repeating it is a masterstroke.
"There's nothing to misconstrue here. Also, as a fan, it is important to understand how a franchise works. CSK hasn't done anything wrong, and more importantly, no one said that CSK did something wrong."
'Lack of awareness isn't my fault'
Ashwin went on to explain the player replacement process in IPL, maintaining that people making a controversy out of his original comments without understanding how the system works is not his fault.
"If there are any discrepancies, do you think the IPL Governing Council will let it slide? Let's first understand that all IPL contracts are tri-partite. The contract is always signed between the player, the team, and the BCCI.
"The team has to sign, the player has to sign, and then the Governing Council or the IPL Committee has to approve it. A player can come out to the middle only after all these things are completed and approved. It is after all these checks that he could have entered the fray and stamped his authority on the game.
"See, a lack of awareness or not knowing something isn't that person's fault. Also, if you are going to be at my throat that I did something wrong, I am not going to take it personally, either."
Brevis emerged as one of the few bright spots in CSK's wooden-spoon campaign this year. He accumulated 225 runs at an impressive average of 37.50 and a strike rate of 180.
The young batter subsequently earned his Test debut and returned to South Africa's T20I side (having first played in 2023). Recently in red-hot form, Brevis followed up his 41-ball T20I century against Australia with a blistering 22-ball fifty that included a hat-trick of no-look sixes.
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