'Baby AB' - that's the nickname 18 year old South African Dewald Brevis has picked up, thanks to his swashbuckling batting style. The Johannesburg-born Brevis hogged the limelight with his power-packed batting show in the recently concluded ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022, which India won.
Baby AB' - that's the nickname 18 year old South African
has picked up, thanks to his swashbuckling batting style.
The Johannesburg-born Brevis hogged the limelight with his power-packed batting show in the recently concluded ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022, which India won.
The South African colts failed to make it to the knockouts, but the 18-year-old Brevis was the pick of the batsmen, taking the tournament by storm and signing off as the highest run-scorer, with 506 runs in 6 innings, at an average of 84.33.
He began the tournament with a fine 65 run knock vs India and then followed that up with knocks of 104 vs Uganda, 96 vs Ireland and 97 vs England. His only low score was a 6 vs Sri Lanka, but he signed off with a brilliant 138 vs Bangladesh.
He also took 7 wickets with his more than useful off-spin, including 2 wickets vs India.
Apart from his run-scoring spree, what caught the attention was his batting style that drew comparisons with South African great AB de Villiers.
Now Baby AB will be seen in action in the IPL. The 18-year-old, who went on the auction table at a base price of Rs. 20 lakh, was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 3 crore. Very clearly he was on the radar of the most successful IPL franchise and they went all out for him.
PLAYING FOR THE MUMBAI INDIANS
"It is a huge honour to be part of a franchise with an amazing record like Mumbai Indians. Me and my brother idolised so many players in the Mumbai family while we grew up. Mumbai Indians is a team that you always feel have a very good chance of winning the IPL and their past record shows just that. They have also in the past been very good at giving young players a chance and I am privileged that I have this opportunity and look forward to working with their world-class coaching staff. Sachin Tendulkar is one of my childhood heroes," Brevis told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.
"I am very excited to play under Rohit Sharma. He is someone that I admire and for a young player like me to be able to share a dressing room with a captain and player like Rohit is a dream come true. I will try and learn as much as I can from him," Brevis further said.
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THE ICC U-19 WORLD CUP EXPERIENCE
"It (Under-19 World Cup) was an amazing experience. I am just keeping my feet on the ground. It's been a memorable few weeks in the West Indies. It was tough to cut the noise around me. I do think that it helped to challenge and develop the mental side of my game. I am lucky to be surrounded by some incredible people, including my family, coaches, sponsors, the support staff, and our Under-19 team,"
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