Dewald Brevis missed out as Chennai Super Kings open their IPL 2026 campaign against Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, on Monday, March 30. The toss was delayed due to rain in Guwahati.
Brevis missed out on the clash as he had picked up a side strain leading into the game. "Brevis is out. He had a side injury during training. He is rehabbing. Hopefully, won’t be [out] for too long," head coach Stephen Fleming said on the eve of the game in Guwahati.
Brevis had a notable impact in IPL 2025 after joining CSK mid-season as an injury replacement. He scored 225 runs in 6 innings at an impressive average of 37.50 and a strike rate of 180, emerging as one of CSK’s standout performers. The young South African also produced match-winning knocks, including a rapid fifty, showcasing his explosive batting and establishing himself as a key player for CSK going forward.
RR win toss, opt to bowl first
Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag won the toss and opted to bowl first in Guwahati. With rain around, Parag highlighted that he wants to make the most of the conditions. "We are bowling first. There's been a lot of rain. There's going to be some moisture. It feels nice (to be captaining), the support has been incredible. Hopefully, a good campaign for us. The goal is to win the championship. We tried to have a lot of smart cricketers." Parag said at the toss.
Meanwhile, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad stated that he also wanted to bowl first. "It was a no-brainer to bowl first. Nevertheless, we'd like to start positively. You saw how the last year went for us. We went to the auction with some strategy. Let's hope that they go really well. Our overseas players are Short, Overton, Noor and Matt Henry," Gaikwad said at the toss.
Teams
Chennai Super Kings' Playing XI: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Ayush Mhatre, Matt Short, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed
Rajasthan Royals' Playing XI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma
RR Impact options: Donovan Ferreira, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Sushant Mishra, Tushar Deshpande
CSK impact options Sarfaraz Khan, Prashanth Veer, Rahul Chahar, Gurjapneet Singh, Ramakrishna Ghosh
