IPL 2022, KKR vs MI: “Baby ABD” Dewald Brevis impresses on debut, plays fearless cricket

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Pune, April 6: South African under-19 World Cup star Dewald Brevis on Wednesday (April 6) made an impressive debut for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders in match 14 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the MCA Stadium in Pune.

The 18-year-old, who became the fifth youngest overseas player to make his first appearance in IPL, lived up to his nickname of "Baby ABD" with fearless stroke-play in his knock of 19-ball 29 that included 2 sixes and 2 fours.

Brevis walked into bat when MI lost their skipper Rohit Sharma for 3 off 12 balls after being invited to bat first, and the record champions were struggling at 6/1 in 2.5 overs. The youngster showed no fear despite facing the likes of Umesh Yadav and Pat Cummins.

He struck his first boundary off the second ball of his innings, lofting KKR's debutant Rasikh Salam over mid on and hit another a boundary, almost similar to the first one, in the next over off purple cap holder Umesh Yadav.

In the last over of powerplay, Brevis top-edged Cummins over the wicketkeeper Sam Billings' head and over the ropes for his first maximum.

In the seventh over, he welcomed mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy for another six before being stumped later in the over, looking to further attack the spinner. MI were 45/2 in 7.5 overs following Brevis' dismissal.

The young South African was nicknamed Baby ABD for his stroke-making skills almost similar to his senior compatriot and IPL legend AB de Villiers.

Known for playing wide range of shots, Brevis was picked up by five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians in the IPL auctions earlier this year for Rs 3 crore.

The 18-year-old Brevis scored 506 runs in the U-19 World Cup held earlier this year, the most in a single edition of the tournament, surpassing flamboyant India opener Shikhar Dhawan's record of 505 runs in 2004 and also picked up seven wickets with his part-time leg-spin.

Brevis, who considers legendary Sachin Tendulkar as his inspiration, on his day can take any good attack to the cleaners. And he showed that against the likes of Cummins and Yadav on Wednesday (April 6), promising more in the future.