Chennai Super Kings have found themselves under the spotlight after a poor start to their Indian Premier League 2026 campaign. Many fans and pundits believe that the right team balance could be the answer for this young CSK side under captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to return to winning ways. Amid these struggles, Ravichandran Ashwin gave his verdict on CSK’s squad.
Ashwin began with, “Akeal will be fit and I feel he should play. He is an experienced bowler, something that the side lacks now.
“Prashant Veer can be used as a left-arm spinner, but he too lacks experience and maybe some confidence with the ball. From what I know, Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma had an extended training session at the nets and the former seemed in very good touch. These type of net sessions are rather match simulations, instead of just practice match. You’re basically given a situation to deal with and you have to follow the conditions,” added Ashwin.
“Just like Sarfaraz Khan, who has been in good touch with the bat, Gurjanpreet Singh is a bowler in good touch,” remarked Ashwin.
Ashwin also pointed out that the key element CSK has been missing the most over the past few matches is their explosive South African batter Dewald Brevis. He has been unavailable lately due to a side strain picked up during training before the start of this campaign.
“Ahead of the season, I predicted CSK to knock on the doors of qualification, but the biggest setback to that has been Dewald Brevis. He is the difference between winning and losing,” said Ashwin.
CSK miss Brevis’ presence in middle-order
Ashwin’s remarks underline how crucial Brevis could be in CSK’s road to qualification, as they look to secure their first points of the season against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Brevis had a massive impact for CSK in last year’s edition of the IPL, scoring 225 runs at a splendid strike rate of around 180 in just 6 innings. He showed flashes of brilliance in the middle, hitting 17 sixes along the way, the second-most by a CSK player last season. His standout performances eventually earned him a retention deal with CSK for INR 2.2 crore ahead of IPL 2026.
CSK’s top order, led by Sanju Samson and Gaikwad, has struggled so far, failing to provide a solid foundation to their young batting line-up. The lack of experience in the middle order has further restricted the team from posting good competitive totals.
In a league like the IPL, it often takes just one player to shift a team’s momentum and for CSK, that’s where Brevis could step in.
