"Is there a loophole there, which Ashwin has highlighted?" - Aakash Chopra on CSK's acquisition of Dewald Brevis during IPL 2025

Former India player Aakash Chopra has wondered whether the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) took advantage of a loophole in the player replacement rules while acquiring Dewald Brevis during IPL 2025. He noted that Ravichandran Ashwin has disclosed that the South African youngster had negotiated a deal with the franchise above his base price.

CSK acquired Brevis for ₹2.20 crore as an injury replacement for Gurjapneet Singh during IPL 2025. The Tamil Nadu left-arm seamer had been bought for the same amount by the franchise during the mega auction.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener questioned whether the IPL replacement rules have a loophole that allowed CSK to acquire Brevis for a bigger sum.

"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," Chopra said (0:01).

"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 added.

Ravichandran Ashwin recently disclosed that multiple franchises approached Dewald Brevis during IPL 2025, but the deal didn't go through as they weren't willing to pay extra money. He added that the Chennai Super Kings paid a negotiated sum to acquire the middle-order batter's services, although he didn't mention whether it was above ₹2.20 crore.

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"If there was a loophole, you have exploited it" - Aakash Chopra on CSK potentially having acquired Dewald Brevis for more than ₹2.20 crore

Dewald Brevis smashed 225 runs at a strike rate of 180.00 in six innings in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that CSK have exploited a loophole if they have acquired 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," the cricketer-turned-commentator said (5:50).

"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," he added.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra noted that Ravichandran Ashwin's disclosure is a bombshell, as other teams might also be doing it, highlighting that players are paid more even during trades. He added that the IPL governing council might want to look into the issue if CSK or any other team has taken advantage of this loophole.