In IPL 2022, many not-so-known youngsters have left an impression in the tournament. One of them was South Africa teenage prodigy Dewald Brevis, better known as 'Baby AB' turning out for five-time champions Mumbai Indians.
Though Mumbai finished at the bottom of the table, Brevis was one of the few positives in the campaign. He had a good IPL debut, making 29 from 19 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders, followed by five majestic sixes, including four consecutive maximums against leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, in a 25-ball 49 that almost helped Mumbai pull off an unlikely run chase against Punjab Kings, and slammed 31 from 13 balls against Lucknow Super Giants.
Though Brevis was out of eleven after low scores followed, he learnt the lesson of sticking to his processes during the tournament, where he made seven appearances for Mumbai. "Everything happens for a reason and you have to trust it. Prepare the same way, keep doing the same processes and you just have to be ready, whenever the next time is," said the youngster in a video posted by the franchise on their social media accounts.
Brevis, who lit it up 2022 ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup by becoming the top-scorer with 506 runs in six innings, including two centuries as well as a 96 against Ireland and a 97 against eventual runners-up England, liked rubbing shoulders against various international cricketers in IPL 2022.
"I really loved playing against these international players. Something that I just felt that's important that I learnt is I just batted there, my game and I didn't try to hit boundaries, it came naturally."
With a legendary backroom staff in mentor Sachin Tendulkar, head coach Mahela Jayawardene and director of cricket operations Zaheer Khan, Brevis had a lot of learnings from stalwarts of the game.
Brevis revealed the advices he got from them. "All of these legends, they give you simple pieces of advice that really improves your game. For example, to still be true to myself, my game, and to just enjoy it. They try to give you big advices, it's small little things that really helps. Just being yourself, play your game, backing yourself and play the way you want to play."
"But the important thing was to just know when to shift a bit down and to take a bit more time. Maybe just knock it around and give yourself a bit of time, certain overs. To just identify the moments a bit better. Yeah, it's just learning and enjoying it."
Brevis signed off by saying that his time in IPL 2022 was made extremely special by the members of the Mumbai camp in the bubble. "There's always something to do, someone always wants to do something, so just have fun, enjoy it, that's the best thing. Everyone is always there with you and enjoying every single moment. So, it's very special, everyone is very special here."
