After CSK issue Dewald Brevis signing clarification, R Ashwin clears air on remark – India Today

R Ashwin has cleared the air regarding the remark he made about CSK signing Dewald Brevis after the franchise issued a statement on bringing in the South African batter as a replacement player during the IPL 2025 season. Brevis was brought in to replace an injured Gurjapneet Singh and had a brilliant time with the five-time IPL champions. He scored 225 runs in six matches with a strike-rate of 180.
However, Ashwin courted some controversy with recent comments about the Brevis signing. People took the former India spinner's remark that CSK paid 'extra' to get Brevis out of context, with many feeling that they had paid more than the allotted price of 2.2 crore rupees. However, that wasn't the case and CSK issued a statement on the matter on August 16 to put the rumours to bed.

Ashwin, in his YouTube channel, said that he just stated the facts and his comments were taken out of proportion. The former India spinner said that the Brevis move wouldn't have happened if there was something wrong with it, as the IPL would have blocked it if that was the case.

Ashwin went on to say that his intention with the previous video was to talk about Brevis' form at the moment.
“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.”
“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.

Putting the controversy aside, Brevis has hit a purple patch recently with his exploits during the Australia vs South Africa series catching the eye of everyone. Ashwin said that CSK have struck gold with the signing of the 22-year-old and praised the management for making the call.
"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.
Brevis finished the Australia T20I series as the highest run-getter with 180 runs from three matches. This included a sizzling hundred in the second match and a fifty in the series decider.

R Ashwin has cleared the air regarding the remark he made about CSK signing Dewald Brevis after the franchise issued a statement on bringing in the South African batter as a replacement player during the IPL 2025 season. Brevis was brought in to replace an injured Gurjapneet Singh and had a brilliant time with the five-time IPL champions. He scored 225 runs in six matches with a strike-rate of 180.
However, Ashwin courted some controversy with recent comments about the Brevis signing. People took the former India spinner's remark that CSK paid 'extra' to get Brevis out of context, with many feeling that they had paid more than the allotted price of 2.2 crore rupees. However, that wasn't the case and CSK issued a statement on the matter on August 16 to put the rumours to bed.

Ashwin, in his YouTube channel, said that he just stated the facts and his comments were taken out of proportion. The former India spinner said that the Brevis move wouldn't have happened if there was something wrong with it, as the IPL would have blocked it if that was the case.
Ashwin went on to say that his intention with the previous video was to talk about Brevis' form at the moment.
“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.”
“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.

Putting the controversy aside, Brevis has hit a purple patch recently with his exploits during the Australia vs South Africa series catching the eye of everyone. Ashwin said that CSK have struck gold with the signing of the 22-year-old and praised the management for making the call.
"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.
Brevis finished the Australia T20I series as the highest run-getter with 180 runs from three matches. This included a sizzling hundred in the second match and a fifty in the series decider.

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