Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has raised questions about whether Chennai Super Kings took advantage of a loophole in signing Dewald Brevis as an injury replacement. It came after Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that the South African had engaged in salary discussions with the five-time champions, initially seeking more than the franchise’s first offer, before CSK eventually agreed to meet his demands.
Brevis, who went unsold in the mega auction after he set his base price for INR 75 lakh, was eventually signed by CSK as the injury replacement for Gurjapneet Singh in the middle of the season. After going unsold at the auction, Brevis was included in the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP) — a list of unsold cricketers who remain eligible to be signed by franchises as replacement players.
Chopra, speaking on his YouTube show, discussed Ashwin’s revelation about CSK signing Brevis as a replacement. Chopra questioned whether teams can legally pay above the official purse limits, using Dewald Brevis’ case to explain pro‑rata salaries—capped between his INR 75 lakh base price and INR 2.20 crore.
“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,” Chopra said in his YouTube show.
Aakash Chopra explains player’s salary on pro-rata basis
The former Indian cricketer further elaborated that since Brevis joined mid-season, he was guaranteed at least half his base price (INR 37.5 lakh) but could earn up to half of the injured player’s fee. With Gurjapneet valued at INR 2.20 crore, the upper limit for Brevis’s pay would be about INR 1.10 crore for the rest of the 2025 season.
“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,” he added.
Chopra shed light on Ashwin’s revelation and said that if CSK had agreed to more than INR 2.2 crore, they might have exploited a loophole there.
“Ashwin is saying that players ask for more money, and according to him, the Chennai Super Kings agreed as well. 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,” Chopra said.