IPL 2026: Brevis ruled out of CSK’s opening game against RR due to side strain

Guwahati, March 29 (IANS) Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be without South Africa batter Dewald Brevis for their IPL 2026 opening match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) after he suffered a side strain while training, confirmed head coach Stephen Fleming.

"Brevis is out. He had a side injury during training. So again, he is rehabbing. CSK is hopeful he will be fit again soon," said Fleming in the pre-match press conference at the ACA Stadium on Sunday.

Brevis’ absence compounds CSK’s injury woes - fast bowler Nathan Ellis has already been ruled out of the season, while former captain MS Dhoni is expected to miss the first two weeks of the competition due to a calf strain.

It is understood that Dhoni has not traveled with the team to Guwahati and has stayed back in Chennai instead to focus on his recovery. Left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson, named as Ellis’ replacement, is due to join the squad on April 21 as he continues his recovery from a back stress fracture issue.

“We have big enough squads to cover it, but it’s not just us. In fact, we’re not too bad. Other teams have really been hit hard, and I don’t think there’d be any team that has come through this without injuries.

"There’s a lot of cricket, and managing players and how they arrive into the squad is really important. So it’s not really what we do. It’s how they arrive, and then we’re either rehabbing or maintaining their fitness.

It’s just part, now I think, of modern-day cricket. There is so much going on and so many demands on these players, and it’s such an energetic game that there are going to be some injuries. So we’ve got a big enough squad,” added Fleming.

CSK endured a poor campaign in 2025, finishing at the bottom of the table with just four wins, and will be hoping for a turnaround in 2026. Brevis had impressed in his short stint last season after joining as a replacement player for Gurjapneet Singh, scoring 225 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 180, including 17 sixes. He was retained for this season and was widely tipped to play a key role in the middle order.

Australia’s batting all-rounder Matt Short, who joined the CSK squad on March 22, could be an option to fill the gap. In the absence of both Dhoni and Brevis, CSK may also hand debuts to Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, who were each bought for INR 14.2 crore at last year’s auction in Abu Dhabi.

Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has confirmed he will open alongside Sanju Samson, with Ayush Mhatre to come at three. It means Sarfaraz Khan and Urvil Patel can be other middle-order options in the mix alongside Kartik and Prashant till Brevis is declared fit.

--IANS

nr/