Mumbai Indians snapped up promising South African youngster Dewald Brevis in the ongoing IPL auction, for Rs 3 crore. With a base price of Rs 20 lakh, the Player of the Tournament at the recent U-19 World Cup was expected to find takers at the auction. A quick bidding war between CSK, Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians saw his price going up to Rs 3 crore, before MI sealed the deal.
The hype is not without reason. Brevis took the U-19 World Cup by storm, scoring 506 runs in six innings at an average of 84.33 while also taking seven wickets. He scored two hundreds and three fifties in his six appearances, and picked up his wickets at 28.57.
Brevis became the first player to be nominated for the ICC Player of the Month (January) without playing at the senior level.
The retirement of South African legend AB de Villiers from all forms of cricket has left a void in the game, especially in the Indian Premier League, where he was the backbone of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and wowed the fans with many a spectacular innings.
But the U-19 World Cup saw the emergence of Brevis, who is touted as the next ABD of world cricket. In fact, a placard with 'BABY AB' written on it, which was flashed by his teammates from the dugout in the U-19 WC match against India, soon became viral. Known for his all-round range of shots, Brevis reminds one of Mr 360 degree ABD.
Interestingly, Brevis's career took wings after he joined the famous Afrikaans Hoer Seunskool, popularly called Affies, where he was mentored by Deon Botes, who coached de Villiers, and Faf du Plessis.
Though Brevis was signed by the Mumbai Indians, his favourite team in the IPL is the RCB, and the youngster is a self-proclaimed admirer of Virat Kohli.
