IPL 2026: Dewald Brevis glad to return from injury as CSK stars praise young talent

Dewald Brevis expressed relief at returning from injury after CSK’s win over KKR, while experts Ravichandran Ashwin and Dale Steyn backed Ruturaj Gaikwad to regain form and highlighted young talents as key to the team’s momentum.

Hyderabad: Chennai Super Kings star batter Dewald Brevis said that he was glad to be out on the park playing after recovering from the injury. Brevis, who played a key role in CSK’s win against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL league match in Chennai on Tuesday night, said on JioHotStar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live” that it was fun and enjoyable.
“ It was great to be out here in front of the crowd, very special. And yeah, just spending time getting to know the wicket. It was a bit different compared to the other night, but yeah, lots of fun,” Brevis said.

“It was absolutely great to dive around on the field as well, to have a good swing with the bat and just get a feel for it. It feels like I’ve gained some confidence because it wasn’t nice being out with a side strain. But yeah, I feel strong and I’m glad we got the win,” he said.

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On fellow ‘fearless prodigy’ Ayush Mhatre in the side, Brevis said the Mumbai batter was very special, young and played the way he does. “That’s my wish for him, to continue being true to himself, have fun,
and play like that no matter what. You will have ups and downs in your career, but it’s brilliant to see how he plays. He basically plays ball by ball, reacting and hitting it where it needs to go,” he said. JioStar expert Ravichandran Ashwin was hopeful of CSK Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad finding form soon.

“The fact that he’s got a couple of wins as a captain should really ease him into this tournament. Honestly, if I was sitting in the dugout or if I were Ruturaj Gaikwad, I wouldn’t be too fussed. T20 is a game where you need to show intent constantly; there’s just one small thing I would ask for,” Ashwin said “If you look at Ayush Mhatre or Sanju Samson, they took the right options by going down the ground. Whereas Ruturaj has been going across the line a bit more and getting caught early. It would serve him well if he took it slightly easier at the start of his innings, looked to time the ball, and played more down the ground.,” he said.

On what KKR can do after a disappointing start to their campaign, Ashwin said: “You can’t expect Pathirana to come into the tournament and turn things around immediately. But remember one thing: a few years ago, in 2021, KKR were down in the dumps. The tournament had to be restarted, and they came back, won consistently, and got on a roll. Everything changed. And what turned it around for them? Fresh energy from someone like Venkatesh Iyer.”

“ They do have players like Tejasvi Dahiya in the dugout, and Saurabh Dubey, the left-arm quick. There is some freshness in the squad, so maybe someone like that coming in and reinforcing the team could
reinvigorate their chances. But it’s not going to be easy for KKR this year,” Ashwin said.

Another JioStar expert Dale Steyn credited for CSK’s turn-around to opener Sanju Samson. “That hundred the other day, what it does for the dressing room, there’s a spark in the team right now. And it all started with that hundred from Sanju Samson. He gets a hundred, Overton picks up a couple of wickets, you get a win under your belt,”he said.

“Winning IPL games is really difficult. Sometimes they are there on a platter and you still lose them. So once you win one, the confidence within the team jumps remarkably. All of a sudden, you find yourself
doing things that three days ago you weren’t capable of. So Samson is certainly leading that. Gaikwad, he’ll come good, he’s a fantastic batter,” Steyn said.