Ravichandran Ashwin’s Bold Remark On Dewald Brevis Signing Sparks Storm, CSK Forced To Respond

Former Indian cricketer and current Chennai Super Kings player Ravichandran Ashwin created a storm in the cricketing community after hinting that CSK might have paid “slightly more” than usual to sign South African youngster Dewald Brevis.

Brevis was drafted in to replace injured Gurjapneet Singh, a move which released INR 2.2 crore of budget in the team. While Brevis had remained unsold in the IPL auction with a base price of INR 75 lakh, Ashwin suggested that it’s not rare for franchises to exceed the base price in such mid-season signings particularly when player agents negotiate improved offers after auctions are over.

Ashwin’s comments brought about extensive discussion, leading the management of the Chennai Super Kings to release a statement explaining the terms of Brevis’ signing. The franchise upheld that the replacement was approved by the IPL Governing Council, reiterating that all procedures were upheld.

In response to the hype, Ashwin added that even authentic, open-minded decisions now must be publicly explained as a result of increased vigilance over franchise moves. He clarified that the governing body of the league is meticulous with all signings and that any trickery would have prevented Brevis’ clearance. Comparing situations, he said that this has been done before as when RCB recruited Chris Gayle during the season.

“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 in a video on his YouTube channel.

“The IPL or those who need to give approval give the approval, and the player comes and plays. If there was any fault here, that player would not have played in the franchise. This is not about Brevis; it is generally the case. There is one other thing I want to explain. 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,” said Ashwin.

“I watch a lot more cricket. I don’t pay too much attention to these things (on the Brevis-CSK controversy). Nowadays, we make YouTube videos, and we give our opinion in these videos. The ones who watch the videos don’t tend to do anything out of the ordinary. The ones who don’t watch the videos can read the statement and twist the story. Unfortunately, in today’s times, folks can watch smaller videos, read shorter headlines. There is nothing wrong there. Dewald Brevis is a fabulous player, and the way he is batting, CSK has struck gold. Whoever has made the decision they have taken a fabulous decision,” said Ashwin.