The 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been full of surprises, with former champion teams sitting at the bottom of the points table while sides yet to win a trophy are leading the chart. At the 10th spot on the table is the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The team in yellow is in a rut after nine games in IPL 2025, with just four points from their two wins against Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Amid all this, they've faced injuries to players ¡ª most notably their captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who sustained an elbow injury, and Gurjapneet Singh, who is out due to an undisclosed injury.
CSK on April 18 announced that the 26-year-old left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh had been ruled out of the season due to injury. The Tamil Nadu seamer, bought for INR 2.2 crore, did not get a chance to play any matches.
Following his injury, CSK signed young South African batter Dewald Brevis as his replacement for the same amount. Notably, Brevis became CSK's second replacement signing, after Ayush Mhatre was brought in to replace the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad.
There appears to be more to the story surrounding Gurjapneet Singh's injury. Despite being officially ruled out, he was reportedly seen bowling during an intra-squad match organized by CSK on April 23.?
X (Formerly known as Twitter) user Vinoth Kumar, who attended the session, shared several pictures and videos, claiming that Gurjapneet not only bowled with full intensity but also took part in fielding drills.
Additionally, on April 29, he was seen enjoying Dewald Brevis' birthday celebrations, a detail that many fans took note of.
This development didn't sit well with fans, especially on X, where many slammed CSK ¡ª accusing the franchise of faking an injury and demanding action. Several users even called for a ban, labeling CSK as "cheaters."
One said, "Brevis celebrating with the one he replaced for injury. BCCI cracked down on players not showing up post-auction, they cracked down on pricing in mini auctions or players registering for them. Now it¡¯s time to crack down on fake injury replacements used to cover auction mistakes."
Another wrote, "Cheater Kings are back."
One user commented, "LMAO that's Gurjapneet Singh, by the way¡ the fit guy who was declared unfit by this shady franchise so Brevis could be picked."
Another added, "Ban this cheating franchise for another two years."?
CSK now need a miracle to salvage their season ¡ª they must win all their remaining matches and hope results from other top-half teams work in their favour.
However, the management appears to be taking a realistic approach. Both head coach Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni have hinted at shifting focus toward rebuilding for the next season.
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