"KL Rahul told me just to be true to myself and I will always remember that" - Dewald Brevis

South African batter Dewald Brevis has revealed that playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has taught him plenty of important lessons. The teenage prodigy recalled playing with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and an invaluable advice he received from KL Rahul.

Brevis fetched ₹3 crore from the Mumbai Indians in the IPL mega auction held this year. Nicknamed 'Baby AB', the right-handed batter shone in the cash-rich league in a match against the Punjab Kings in Pune.

Although the Mumbai Indians lost, he smashed four consecutive sixes against Rahul Chahar and scored 49 off 25 deliveries in that game.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Brevis stated that the advice from the big players and sharing a dressing room with them have meant a lot. The 19-year-old vowed to live by KL Rahul's advice of staying true to oneself, stating:

"There is so much to learn and the info you get from those big players is invaluable. Sharing the dressing room and being on the field with those big players was really amazing. During games and throughout the tournament, you spend time with the guys and there are little pieces of advice that you get. KL Rahul told me just to be true to myself and I will always remember that."

"I loved every single moment at the IPL and CPL or wherever I played. There is so much that I have learned about my game and myself as a person and I can’t wait for what’s next. The IPL is absolutely the best T20 competition you can think of. Meeting all those superheroes and legends of the game like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli was cool."

Dewald Brevis grabbed the headlines last month when he clobbered 162 off 57 balls for the Titans in a CSA T20 Challenge fixture. He also took a spectacular catch and took a wicket with his leg spin.

"Red-ball cricket is the pinnacle" - Dewald Brevis

Dewald Brevis. (Image Credits: Twitter)

Dewald Brevis has also declared that playing red-ball cricket remains the priority for him and wants to remove the misconception that he is a limited-overs specialist. He hopes to play as a middle-order player in the longer versions of the game, adding:

"Red-ball cricket is the pinnacle. People make the mistake of almost saying I am only a white-ball player because I have only played white-ball cricket. But people must also remember I haven’t had the opportunity to play red-ball cricket. I am not even a year into my professional cricket, they must just give it time because definitely I want to play red-ball cricket and people must know it. The position I want to play red-ball cricket in would be at No 3 or 4."

Mumbai Indians have retained the Johannesburg-born player for IPL 2023. With South Africa looking to strengthen their batting line-up in T20 cricket, another good IPL season may get the youngster his first break at the international level.