(UTV | SOUTH AFRICA) – The 18-year-old batter Dewald Brevis is touted to become the next big thing in world cricket.
South Africa’s Dewald Brevis, also known as ‘Baby AB’ for his uncanny resemblance with batting icon AB de Villiers, was snapped up by five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the recent IPL mega auction. The 18-year-old batter is touted to become the next big thing in world cricket and Brevis’ tally of 506 runs in the 2022 U19 World Cup is a testament to his batting prowess.
The Proteas U19 star finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer, leading to Mumbai shelling out ₹3 crore to acquire his services when he went under the hammer. Brevis now sets sights on leaving his mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the promising youngster has revealed that he was playing in the CSA T20 challenge when his name came up in the auction. Brevis also said that joining Mumbai is a dream-come-true moment for him.
“I did not expect it at all. I was playing for the Titans in the CSA T20 challenge during the auction and my name literally came up in the middle of the game. I remember Quinton de Kock asking me to come up to the TV to watch what was happening,” Brevis told.
“My parents were also really excited. They started crying in all that excitement because, we as a family, have followed the IPL and MI all through. My first memory of playing cricket was in our backyard and from replicating ‘IPL games’ there to actually playing for MI is a dream come true. It gives me a lot of confidence to be picked by the most successful IPL team and motivates me to add one more trophy to that cabinet.”
The right-handed batter further opened up on idolising Sachin Tendulkar while growing up and described the legendary batter’s ODI double century, which incidentally came against Brevis’ country, South Africa.
“The way he played was always an inspiration to me. My favourite innings of his is the ODI double-century, which happened to be against South Africa! I remember watching the match with my brother – it was an amazing innings,” added Brevis.
“I read his autobiography ‘Playing it My Way’ and there are a lot of things from there that I’d like to implement in my game. One thing I learnt from him is that you have to be humble because pride can be your downfall.”
Brevis also heaped praise on skipper Rohit Sharma and opened up on the prospect of facing Jasprit Bumrah. He recalled watching the Indian paceman’s spell at the SuperSport Park and described batting against him in the nets as a “surreal” thing.
“I would love to share the dressing room with Rohit Sharma. He is a wonderful batter, smokes the bowlers and I have seen him rise through the ranks over the years. I am grateful that both Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah are on the team. I think it will be tougher to face Bumrah, I have seen him bowl live at Supersport Park (in Centurion) for India against South Africa and it is surreal that I will be facing him in the nets soon,” he said.
He may had made all the noise for his similarity with de Villiers but the promising batter wants to carve his own unique niche. “It is an honour to be compared to him, but it is important for me to have my own identity. I want to be known as Dewald Brevis.”