Brevis now holds the record for highest individual score by a South African in T20Is
Dewald Brevis got one proper season with the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 soon after he made the big splash at the Under 19 World Cup that year. He was retained for a big sum of INR 3 crore by the five-time champions, but he didn’t get a game that season and barely got to bat in the 2024 season.
For some strange reason, MI decided not to pursue him in the IPL 2025 auction along with other franchises. It turned out to be Brevis’ gain and IPL loss as he tore the leather off the ball wherever he played. In the SA20 for MI Cape Town Brevis was the star of the tournament with 219 runs from 12 matches with an incredible average of 48.
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Then, he went back to Titans in South Africa’s domestic cricket and smashed a hundred and three fifties in the provincial List-A tournament and finished as the second highest run-getter in the tournament with 398 runs from seven matches at an average of 66.
He was also the second highest run-scorer in the CSA 4-Day Series Division 1 2024-25 tournament with 573 runs from 12 innings at an average of 47 and a top shelf strike rate of 88. By the time MI realised their mistake, it was already too late and the IPL season had begun.
However, CSK were quick to make up for their auction mistakes as they pounced on the opportunity to sign Brevis as a mid-season injury replacement. The Proteas youngster, along with teenager Ayush Mhatre, was the shining star in a grim season for CSK as he scored 225 runs from six matches at a strike rate of 180 and an average of 37.
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This turnaround was what the South African selectors were waiting for as Brevis was brought back into the national team and given opportunities across all formats.
On Tuesday, the 22-year-old became the youngster T20I centurion for South Africa as he smashed to an unbeaten 125 off just 56 balls against Australia at the Marrara Stadium in Darwin.
As he kept taking the Aussie bowlers to the cleaners, former Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter AB de Villiers couldn’t hold himself back from taking a dig at IPL franchises.
“There was such a golden opportunity for IPL teams to pick up Dewald Brevis at the auction! Missed out badly. CSK either got very lucky, or maybe the biggest master stroke ever The boy can play @BrevisDewald,” De Villiers tweeted.
“Mind boggling that he wasn’t picked up at all! To think that he came in as an injury sub,” he added another tweet under the same thread.
Brevis is now the holder of the second fastest T20I hundred by a South African (41 balls) and the highest individual score by a South African in T20Is (125 not out off 56 balls).