'Be yourself, hit the ball, have fun' - Dewald Brevis is learning to play like he's 19 again

Dewald Brevis is just 22 years old, but he is already thinking about his younger self, and remembering how to play like, and for, that kid.

"I'm now actually back to where I was, how I played when I was 19, or even younger," Brevis said in Ahmedabad, where South Africa begin their T20 World Cup campaign. "I went a bit away from that. Now it's all about enjoying it, having fun and being yourself; being the small boy who really loves playing. Just watching the ball and hitting it."

Ordinarily, that would sound like regression but those who remember Brevis at 19 - or indeed younger - will know that this attempt to turn back time is well founded. Just over four years ago, at the age of 18, Brevis was the leading run-scorer at the Under-19 World Cup with 506 runs in six matches, including two centuries and three fifties. That tally is also the most by any batter in a single edition of the tournament and the most by a South African in under-19 World Cups. He was immediately picked up by Mumbai Indians, which was evidence that anyone needed that he was considered the next big thing.

Then, almost as soon as he got off the plane from the U-19 World Cup in the Caribbean, he was fast-tracked into the Titans side for the CSA T20 Challenge with sobering consequences. In seven innings at that tournament, Brevis scored 145 runs, no fifties and had a strike rate of 113.18. A quiet IPL followed, also seven innings, 161 runs, a top score of 49 and an improved strike-rate of 142.47. In October that year, Brevis broke the South African record for the highest score in a T20 - 162 off 57 balls in a domestic T20 but the following year was tough.

Between January 2023 and March 2024, Brevis played in 25 T20s - including two internationals - batted 24 times, scored 483 runs with three fifties at a strike-rate of 128.54. Something wasn't quite clicking, and it was because there were too many chefs in his kitchen. "Obviously you need to and want to learn, you want to get better and a lot of the time, there's a lot of people - coaches, everyone with good intentions - that wants to give you good advice. And then at the end, if you take all of that advice, it's not to say it's going to work for you," he said. "And then you take a bit of your natural ability or a bit of the person who you are away. And that's what happened."

It was during that time, when runs were drying up (by Brevis' standards), that he realised that the only person he needed to listen to was himself, and his own instincts. "I found my path back to who I am and to just be true to myself and the way I play," he said. "There's a lot you can learn, but it's just to be myself, to be true to how I play. Sometimes if you fade a bit away from that, you see how it goes. And then when you actually focus on being yourself and true to yourself, it's amazing what happens then, how you actually enjoy the game and how much fun you have and how well you actually do."

The numbers agree. Since 13 March 2024, Brevis has played in 69 T20s, batted 63 times, scored 1708 runs at an average of 32.96 and a strike rate of 165.58, including two hundreds and 10 fifties. One of those hundreds was the highest by a South African in T20Is - 125* off 56 balls - and it came against Australia. That knock that freed Brevis from the shackles of his former, and self-embraced, moniker of Baby-AB and showed he was his own person and his own batter.

He still regards AB de Villiers as a hero and mentor but is also happy to step out of his shadow and into his own spotlight. "AB has always been my role model and still is. He still helps me a lot and I still look up to him and the way he played but it's never ever put any pressure on me," Brevis said. "I've never felt any pressure being compared to him. It's always been a privilege and an honour for me because he's my hero. I've always just seen it like that. But I always knew it's my journey. I'm Dewald. I'm not someone else. I'll have my own path and my own things that I'll achieve and create and be my own person. It's never been any pressure for me. It's only been a privilege."

In just over 24 hours in India, it's clear that the world's most-adoring cricket fans also view Brevis' identity as separate. Around the traps, de Villiers is no longer the first name out of fan's mouths because Brevis' is (followed by all the usual suspects including Jonty Rhodes). And he loves them back. "The fans are crazy. They love their cricket. I love how it is when you play out there and see all the fans and how loud it gets," he said.

Indian cricket lovers also get to see much more of him than they might have of others who caught their eyes both in the IPL and in the SA20, where all six franchises are Indian-owned. The tournament is broadcast and beloved in India and fans would have followed Brevis' progression from MICT to being the league's record buy at Pretoria Capitals. This season, Brevis was one of their standout players and his performances tutorship of Sourav Ganguly, which strengthens his Indian connection. "He's a great guy. I really enjoyed working with him, with all of his knowledge and everything that he brought," Brevis said. "And he's been an amazing player, the way he played seam, spin and everything. He helped me with my game as well. He brought a good energy and he was good for the team."

With the SA20 done and Brevis making good on his price tag, his attention is fully on the next task - his first World Cup. He describes the squad in similar terms to the Capitals team, led by Keshav Maharaj, that reached the final. "We're an amazing group with strong players. We've seen what happened a few months ago with the World Test Championship final. There's nothing more to say. We'll do it on the field," he said. "I'm super excited and blessed to be in this position. It's always been a dream and can't wait for what lies ahead."

And he seems to have prophesied this in some ways, because when asked about all the expectation on him, he doesn't even flinch. "I've always believed and knew that it's going to happen. I've always said, I'm never going to study. I'm going to go straight into cricket. I've always said it with words. I always envisioned it and told people, this is what's going to happen and I believed it. I was ready for that," he said. "I've got faith and I trust that I'm on the right path and my journey is at a great place. That takes so much pressure off."

If Brevis' words sound religious, that's because they are. He is open about his commitment to the Christian faith and what it does for him and continues to practice and pray every day. "My religion and Jesus is very important to me so I spend a lot of time with the Word (the Bible), in the mornings, and at nights," he said. "But before games, I don't have anything specific. I just take the day on and stay in the moment.

Just like a 19-year-old would.