CSK Replaces Injured Pacer With Ex-MI Batter For IPL 2025

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have received another injury blow in the middle of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Their Indian pacer, Gurjapneet Singh, won’t be available for the remainder of the season due to injury.

The five-time champions are already without their regular captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is out of the season with an elbow injury that he picked up during the third encounter against the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. MS Dhoni is leading the side in his absence.

CSK signs Dewald Brevis to replace injured Gurjapneet Singh

The 2023 champions have signed South African batter Dewald Brevis as a replacement for the injured Gurjapneet Singh for the remainder of the season. Brevis joins the franchise for a price of INR 2.2 crore.

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The news blew away when the 21-year-old shared a yellow picture on his social media handle. It’s an excellent inclusion for the side, which is struggling with its weak middle order. He entered the IPL 2025 mega auction in November at a base price of INR 75 lakh and went unsold.

However, his form has been incredible in the last few months. Brevis carried the rich form in the SA20 to the Titans in the domestic season, where he finished as the second-leading run-getter in the 50-over format and the first-class events.

Gurjapneet, the Tamil Nadu seamer, joined CSK for INR 2.2 crore, but he didn’t feature in a single game this season. Brevis was part of the Mumbai Indians set-up, where he featured in 10 encounters.

Dewald Brevis’ recent form

The Johannesburg-born new CSK batter has been part of just two T20Is for South Africa as he made his debut against Australia a couple of years ago. However, in 76 T20 innings, the right-handed batter has clubbed 1787 runs at an average of 26.27 and a strike rate of 144.93, scoring one century and seven half-centuries at the best score of 162.

Brevis made a terrific start to his IPL career for the Mumbai side in 2022. He nailed 161 runs in just seven innings at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 142.47, with the best score of 49. But it was followed by a poor season in 2024 when he managed just 69 runs in three innings at 116.94.

CSK may look to use him in the middle order in place of Jamie Overton, who hasn’t bowled a lot in the two games he featured in the tournament. One of Vijay Shankar or Rahul Tripathi is likely to make way for the young batter.

In the recent 2024/25 SA20 season for the MI Cape Town, Brevis drilled 291 runs in 10 innings at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 184.17, thanks to two fifties at the best score of unbeaten 73 runs. He is a fearless hitter with a 36-degree game, which earned him the nickname of ‘Baby AB’ because he resembled the former Protea captain.

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It’s not clear when the batter will be available for CSK this season, but the management shouldn’t take much time to add him to the playing eleven.

CSK to face Mumbai Indians on April 20

CSK made a nervy start in the tournament with a victory against the Hardik Pandya-led side at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. But their next five games ended in five successive defeats.

The batting kept on flopping in the 2025 edition before they finally earned their first victory in nearly a month against the Lucknow Super Giants. They will now travel to the Wankhede Stadium to face Mumbai for the second round.