During the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, former South Africa player AB de Villiers expressed his admiration for rookie batsman Dewald Brevis and said the Chennai Super Kings were fortunate to have him join them as an injury replacement. AB de Villiers made these remarks following Brevis’s spectacular 56-ball 125 in the second Twenty20 International of the current series against Australia.
When AB de Villiers saw Brevis’s amazing batsmanship live, he couldn’t help but congratulate the young player for taking on a top-tier bowling attack like Australia and scoring his first century in the format.
AB de Villiers claimed that the five-time champions struck gold by including the batter in their lineup for the 18th edition after the batter, who played for CSK in the 2025 IPL, converted him into a fan.
“IPL teams had a fantastic chance to acquire Dewald Brevis at the auction! I missed it terribly. Either CSK was extremely fortunate, or perhaps it was the greatest stroke of genius ever 👏 The former cricket player expressed gratitude on X (previously Twitter) by writing, “The boy can play.”
Coming into the match, South Africa, riding a 0-1 lead in the three-match series, batted first at the Marrara Oval in Darwin. Although the Proteas got off to a respectable start, wickets were falling frequently as well. Brevis took over at that point and quickly found openings for numerous runs. In addition, he and Tristan Stubbs shared an incredible 126-run partnership that saw them stand tall until the fourth wicket of the innings fell.
Brevis was undefeated till the final ball of the innings and hit the three-figure mark off just 41 deliveries. The 22-year-old hit his first-ever century at the international arena while batting at a tremendous strike-rate of 223.21. At the end of the first innings, the Proteas managed to amass 218 for the loss of seven wickets thanks to his 12 boundaries and eight massive sixes during his time at the crease.
It would be interesting to watch if CSK keeps the Johannesburg-born player ahead of the 2026 season after his incredible batting performance, especially since the mini auction is quickly approaching.
India
