Former umpire Anil Chaudhary has come up with a rulebook explanation to the controversial dismissal of Dewald Brevis during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) versus Chennai Super Kings (CSK) IPL 2025 match on Saturday, May 3. The on-field umpire adjudged Dewald Brevis out leg before wicket (lbw) in the 17th over of the second innings at a crucial juncture of the match.
The situation took a dramatic turn when the young batter was denied the opportunity to seek a Decision Review System (DRS) referral. This refusal visibly frustrated the entire CSK contingent, particularly Brevis’ batting partner, Ravindra Jadeja, who was at the non-striker's end and was seen engaging in a tense exchange with the on-field umpire post the incident.
Umpire Anil Chaudhary's take on Dewald Brevis' controversial dismissal
However, addressing the controversy, Anil Chaudhary has provided his perspective to the whole incident which has ever since become the topic of debate. He clarified that the onus lies on the batter to observe the umpire, who diligently monitors the 15-second countdown within which a review must be requested. Chaudhary suggested that because Brevis and Jadeja were occupied with running between the wickets immediately following the decision, they inadvertently missed the umpire's signal indicating the start of the review window.
“It’s the responsibility of the batter to look at the umpire. Even when five seconds are left, the umpire informs the player about it. Generally, there’s no communication gap. It’s a part of our protocol that whenever five seconds are left, we make gestures so that the batter sees it. I saw for the first time that the batters were busy running even after being given out. The ball is dead after the batter is given out; there’s no point in running. Those runs wouldn’t have counted, even if the decision had been reversed. The batters wasted their time by running, and hence they couldn’t listen to the umpire’s communication,” Anil Chaudhary said in a video shared by Star Sports.
“Even I saw that the umpire told them that it’s beyond 15 seconds now, which must’ve been conveyed to him by the TV umpire. However, the timer didn’t come on the big screen, which is confusing for players. Hence, it’s a cause of worry that it didn’t appear on the big screen. It’s not the mistake of the umpire but the person operating the big screen. It was a bit of bad luck for the players that they couldn’t see it, hence we can’t blame them too much,” Chaudhary concluded.
Adding to CSK's frustration, the ball-tracking technology subsequently indicated that the delivery would have missed the stumps. Had Dewald Brevis opted for a review, he would have been declared not out. Regrettably for CSK, the allotted time for requesting a DRS referral elapsed, leaving Brevis with no choice but to make his way back to the pavilion. Brevis' wicket proved to be a significant turning point in the match, allowing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to seize the momentum. Ultimately, RCB capitalized on this advantage, securing a thrilling two-run win and thus rocketed to top of the IPL 2025 points table with eight victories in 11 matches. Meanwhile, with nine defeats CSK's fate remained unchanged as they continue to bit dust at the bottom of the standings.