Brevis to miss RR clash with a side strain

Dewald Brevis has been ruled out of Chennai Super Kings (CSK)'s IPL 2026 opener against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday (March 30) in Guwahati due to injury. During training, the South African batter suffered a side strain, keeping him out of CSK's first game. In the press conference preceding the match, head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed the development. Brevis, on the other hand, participated in some fitness drills with the team physio during the practice session on Sunday evening as part of his rehabilitation. Brevis' fitness for CSK's second game on Friday (April 3) against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at home is unknown, but the team is still optimistic that he will recover quickly. The Super Kings have been dealt a second significant setback in the form of injuries this past weekend. MS Dhoni is likely to miss the first two weeks of IPL 2026 due to a calf strain. It has learned that Dhoni did not accompany the team to Guwahati. Additionally, seamer Nathan Ellis was previously disqualified from the competition due to a hamstring injury. Spencer Johnson, his replacement, is still recovering from a back stress injury and will join the team sometime between April 21 and 23. Brevis was signed as a mid-season injury replacement for pacer Gurjapneet Singh last year and emerged as a silver lining in an otherwise torrid season for CSK. In IPL 2025, the middle-order batter scored 225 runs across six matches with a strike rate of 180 and an average of 37.50.