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The 21-year-old Dewald Brevis, often termed ‘Baby AB’ for the similarity of his looks and playing style with AB de Villiers, is one of the brightest prospects in world cricket.
Dewald Brevis played for the Mumbai Indians last year (Picture credit: BCCI)
Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings on Friday announced the inclusion of South Africa all-rounder Dewald Brevis into their squad, after medium pacer Gurjapneet Singh was ruled out of the season because of an injury.
Even though Brevis had a base price of just Rs 75 lakh in the mega auction, Chennai have signed him for Rs 2.2 crore.
Ideally, an Indian player could be replaced with a compatriot only, but since Chennai had an overseas slot left after the IPL 2025 mega auction, they could rope in Brevis.
The 21-year-old Protean, often termed ‘Baby AB’ for the similarity of his looks and playing style with AB de Villiers, is one of the brightest prospects in world cricket.
Brevis has played two T20Is for South Africa while scoring just five runs, but his calibre has always been considered top-notch.
Brevis’ last appearance was for the Titans in the CSA 4-Day Series Division 1 tournament earlier this month, and he is the second-highest run-scorer, with 573 runs from 12 innings at an average of 47.75.
Brevis will come into the Indian Premier League on the back of some good form for his domestic team Titans, scoring in both List A and first-class games.
Brevis had already played 10 games for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League and continues to represent them in the Major League Cricket and SA20.
In MLC, Brevis has scored 250 runs in nine matches at an average of 31.25 and a strike rate of around 133.
Brevis has already played 81 T20s and has a strike rate of 144.93. He was in very good form in the SA20 earlier this year, too. He was the sixth-highest run-scorer in the tournament, scoring 291 runs in 10 matches at an average of 48.5 and a strike rate of 184.17.
Brevis will link up with a struggling Chennai team that sits at the bottom spot with only two victories till now at the halfway mark.
Brevis is the second replacement player for Chennai in IPL 2025, who have already signed Mumbai prodigy Ayush Mhatre to replace their regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.
