He represented MI Cape Town in the first three seasons of SA20.
South Africa’s rising sensation Dewald Brevis has created history, becoming the most expensive player ever in the SA20 competition. Brevis has broken the Aiden Markram’s record minutes after Pretoria Capitals (PC) beat Joburg Super Kings (JSK) in the bidding war and acquired his services for a jaw-dropping R16.5 million (INR 8.31 crores).
Stephen Fleming’s Joburg Super Kings (JSK) opened the bidding aggressively, taking the price past R3 million. MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals briefly joined before bowing out, while Paarl Royals (PR) and later Delhi Capitals (PC) pushed the stakes higher, taking the bid to R12. The packed hall gave a round of applause as the bidding crossed R10 million, which eventually hit a record R16.5 million (~Rs 8,31,15,450).
Earlier, Markram went under the hammer and earned a whopping R 14 million (INR 7.05 crores) contract after Durban Super Giants (DSG) jumped into the ring, outbidding two-time champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC). Capitals and Sunrisers were involved in the intense tug-of-war for Markram till his former franchise used Right to Match (RTM) card at R12000K (INR 6.04 crores), but the Super Giants came into the fray, challenging the SEC with a bid of R14000K, to which they backed off. Before the duo, Tristan Stubbs was the most expensive player in SA20 history, having been sold for R 9.2 million ahead of the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2023.
The 22-year-old was instrumental in leading MI Cape Town to their maiden SA20 title triumph last year. The right-hand batter has amassed 291 runs at a staggering average of 48.5 and an exceptional strike rate of 184.18. The Capitals have now bolstered their middle-order bringing his explosive batting prowess to their lineup.
“We’re very happy, I think he’s a very good player. Obviously, 16.5 million is the other way of looking at it, but just in terms of quality on our pitch, our ground, Pretoria, I hope he does well. We haven’t thought so far yet (on making him captain in future). He’s a tremendous talent, his game has really gone forward in the last 1 and a half years as you saw against Australia in Australia recently,” Sourav Ganguly said at the break during the auction.
“He’s a game changer, and that’s what you need in T20 cricket. We have Russell, Rutherford, who can actually really steam it up. I hope he does well. I never relate performance to money, leaving aside the 16.5 million, and I think he’s a great talent. He plays spin well, which is very important, and looks at everything.”
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Super Kings as a franchise has historically trusted in experienced overseas players in the likes of Michael Hussey, Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, and Devon Conway. While their strategy worked for them for a long time, they have struggled immensely in recent times, prompting them to change with the trend.
Why Super Kings want Dewald Brevis across leagues is not just his batting but his flexibility in batting, excellent fielding and ability to contribute to all three aspects of the game. Having him in all three squads, the Joburg Super Kings in SA20 and the Texas Super Kings in the Major League Cricket and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, will also help them to strategies well across leagues instead of just one. The way of playing T20 cricket has completely changed since the start of 2023. When the 200 is considered to be the safe target, the teams are now crossing 250+ run marks every now and then. To match the scoring rate of modern T20 cricket, and intensity of the field, you need players like Brevis, who are fearless, and aggressive.
Brevis has been in tremendous form from the last 12 to 18 months and is arguably one of the most improved T20 batters. He scored 225 runs in IPL 2025, averaging 37.50 and a strike rate of 180. The right-hand batter then continued his performance in the Australia series, emerging as the leading run scorer of the three-match series with 180 runs including a hundred, averaging 90. He is touted to become one of the most valuable CSK overseas players in recent memory.
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