South Africa's U19 World Cup sensation Dewald Brevis purchased by Mumbai Indians for ₹3 crore at IPL 2022 auction

South Africa’s U19 World Cup sensation Dewald Brevis has bagged his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) contract. The 18-year-old has been picked by five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) for a price of ₹3 crore.

The youngster registered his name for the IPL auction at a base price of ₹20 lakh. Apart from MI, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) also bid for the talented cricketer. But Mumbai eventually managed to bag his services.

Brevis was the leading run-getter in the U19 World Cup 2022 in the West Indies. He smashed 506 runs in six matches at an average of 84.33 and a strike rate of 90.19. His performance included two hundreds and three fifties.

Brevis’ scores in the ICC tournament made for exceptional reading - 65, 104, 96, 97, 6 and 138. His batting style and attacking strokeplay earned him comparisons with the legendary AB de Villiers and also the nickname “Baby AB”.

Apart from his batting talent, the Proteas youngster is also a handy leg-spinner. He chipped in with seven wickets in South Africa’s U19 World Cup campaign.

The right-handed batter has so far featured in only two T20 matches, in which he has scored 62 runs with a best of 46 and at a strike rate of 167.56. With the ball, he has one wicket to his credit.

Dewald Brevis’ favorite cricketers

In the video that was shared during the U19 World Cup 2022, Brevis had revealed Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers are his favorite cricketers. He had also expressed his wish to represent the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The young gun had said:

“For me one of the biggest dream is to play for the Proteas. I'm such a big fan of IPL and I would love to play the IPL for RCB. I love RCB because Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers was there. I'm big fan of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.”

Brevis was MI’s second purchase on Day 1 of the IPL 2022 auction in Bengaluru. The franchise had earlier bought Ishan Kishan for a whopping ₹15.25 crore.