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Legendary South Africa pacer Allan Donald remarked that there are quite a lot of similarities in the batting playstyles of both AB de Villiers and Dewald Brevis, but both of them have their own identities as players. This comes following Brevis' rapid rise to stardom following his brilliant performance in the T20I series against Australia. Brevis played a stunning knock of 125 runs from only 56 deliveries.
Despite having only played 11 T20Is so far in his career, Brevis has already become a key figure in South Africa's set-up in the format. He so far has 341 runs under his name in the shortest format, including a century and a half-century. He also has an explosive strike-rate of 193.75 and has been nicknamed 'Baby AB' due to his batting style bearing similarities with de Villiers.
Donald feels that even though Brevis has the ability to take his side to victory from nowhere, he shouldn't be compared with de Villiers.
“He’s very close to AB de Villiers and has been coached by him, so naturally, there are similarities. But a lot of people say you can’t compare Dewald Brevis to AB, and that’s true. What AB achieved can only ever belong to him. But this kid has the talent to win games from nowhere," Donald said, while responding to a query from India Today.
“He has already shown it domestically and now on the biggest stage, scoring a hundred against a top-quality Australian side. His talent and execution are undeniable,” he added.
Brevis' record-breaking move in SA20
Notably, Brevis recently became the most expensive player in the history of SA20 after he was signed by the Pretoria Capitals at a whopping fee of R16.5 million at the auction for the 2026 season. Donald, who has been thoroughly impressed with Brevis' batting, stated that the 22-year-old can potentially go on to become an 'absolute superstar' when it comes to white-ball cricket.
“Of course, there will only ever be one AB. But Brevis mirrors his mannerisms so closely that it almost feels like watching a clone. Why not have a hero like AB to inspire you? Brevis can do things most batters can’t. He’s that kind of player,” Donald stated.
“As the years go on, we’ll see how he develops across formats. He’s keen on playing Test cricket, but in the shorter formats, especially white-ball cricket, he has the potential to become an absolute superstar. There’s no doubt about it,” he added.
Brevis is featuring for South Africa in the ongoing three-match T20I series against England. The Proteas currently lead by 1-0 after winning the first match by 14 runs (DLS method). Brevis scored 23 runs in the first T20I and will now be seen in action in the second match that is set to be contested on September 12 at Old Trafford.
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