Dewald Brevis, a 22-year-old South African middle-order batter, has been the toast of the town following his exploits in the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Australia. The right-hander smashed the highest T20I score by a Proteas batter in the second T20I, scoring an unbeaten 125 off 56 balls. This was also his maiden T20I ton. He then backed it up with a knock of 53 runs off 26 balls.
The knock in the third and final T20I might not have been enough to help South Africa register a win. However, Australia’s middle-order batter Glenn Maxwell was all but praising Brevis following the conclusion of the game.
Maxwell sympathised with the Dewald Brevis situation, saying the youngster was probably fast-tracked into the Proteas playing XI based on the reputation he created for himself in the U19 World Cup.
It must be mentioned that Brevis was one of the major breakout stars in the U19 World Cup. Due to his batting style, the tag of ‘Baby AB’ was associated with him. Many believed Brevis’s gameplay to be similar to that of former South Africa captain AB de Villiers.
Brevis made his T20I debut in 2023, but it has taken the Proteas batter two years to become familiar with him.
“Brevis has got a lot of talent. It was hard not to see the highlights when he played the U19 World Cup for South Africa. All the Baby AB stuff. It’s a pretty heavy burden he had to have early in his career. He probably got fast-tracked a little bit into the South African side,” Maxwell told reporters after the conclusion of the third T20I.
“He’s gone away, worked on his game, and he’s come back playing beautifully. His bat swing is really pure—he’s hard to stop when he gets going,” he added.
Brevis on song since playing for CSK
Earlier this year, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) signed Dewald Brevis as an injury replacement for Gurjapneet Singh. The right-handed batter was signed for INR 2.20 crore.
The young batter changed the complexion of CSK’s batting in the IPL 2025 season as he introduced aggressive gameplay, registering 225 runs in six matches at an average of 37.50 and a strike rate of 180.
This performance in the IPL led to Brevis’s being called up to South Africa’s squads, and the batter has not looked back since. There has also been some controversy regarding Brevis’ acquisition by CSK after Ravichandran Ashwin commented that the youngster was paid “extra” by the franchise.
However, CSK issued a clarification on the same, saying all the rules and regulations were followed by the five-time champions in availing the services of Brevis for IPL 2025.
