While Mumbai Indians (MI) are going through their worst phase in Indian Premier League (IPL) history, there is one player who has been in limelight for his exquisite strokeplay. The 18-year-old Dewald Brevis who has been often called as ‘Baby AB’ has been sensational in IPL 2022 and earned praises from current and former cricketers around the world. The latest to join the list is England all-rounder Ben Stokes. However, after praising Brevis on Twitter, Stokes immediately apologised.
Seeing his shots in MI’s run chase against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the powerplay overs, Stokes tweeted “Brevis = Player”. Soon after Stokes tweet, Brevis got out to Avesh Khan in the last over of powerplay overs. The World Cup-winning Stokes then tweeted, “Sorry Brevis” with a smiley. The left-handed batter probably felt that it was commentator's curse that led to his wicket despite being in splendid form.
Before Hooda's excellent catch, the Under-19 cricketer played a 13-ball 31 cameo which included six fours and one six at a strike rate of 238.46. Despite Brevis’ fiery start, MI fell short of the 200-run target by 19 runs.
IPL journey so far
He was not included in the playing eleven in MI's first game of the season. He made an impressive debut against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), scoring quickfire 29 runs. He did not do well against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and registered his first single-digit score in IPL. However, he got the wicket of Virat Kohli in that game.
He played a phenomenal knock of 49 against Punjab Kings (PBKS).He hit Rahul Chahar for four consecutive sixes in the ninth over which made MI dugout jump out in joy including head coach Mahela Jayawardene and mentor Sachin Tendulkar.
Hefty price tag
Brevis was picked for Rs 3 crore after a bidding war with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). He became the most expensive Under-19 pick in the mega auctions earlier this year.
