Follow UsOne of the biggest what-ifs in IPL history is what if AB de Villiers played for Chennai Super Kings.
Perhaps the most well-rounded middle-order batter in the history of the competition, playing for one of the most well-rounded franchises in the history of the competition. That combination wouldn’t have been just good, it would have been deadly.
That never happened, but the closest thing to making it a reality is if CSK sign 21-year-old Dewald Brevis. Since breaking through in 2022, Brevis has drawn several parallels and comparisons to none other than de Villiers, earning himself the moniker ‘Baby AB’.
Three years ago, CSK had a real chance of acquiring Brevis before the Mumbai Indians bought the middle-order batter for INR 3 crore. For the longest time, it was a missed opportunity, but now an opportunity has sprung up out of nowhere.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out, CSK are struggling, and the five-time IPL winners barely have the resources to manoeuvre through the middle-order scrap.
They don't have someone ready to fill that gap, and they can't scrap through any of the extended squad to find one. That’s where CSK are accidentally blessed, as they have one overseas slot to fill.
Why accidentally blessed? Because an in-form Dewald Brevis is available.
What does Brevis bring to the table?
For starters, Brevis is one of the most in-form overseas batters available on the market.
Since the start of this year, Brevis has been in top-notch form in T20s, smashing 291 runs across ten innings, averaging 48.5. But what makes the right-hander’s efforts more impressive is when you see the aggression that he brings to the table.
The 21-year-old has consistently found boundaries for fun, striking at 184.2, scoring a boundary every 3.8 deliveries. Boundary-hitting is something that the five-time IPL winners have seriously struggled with. Not only have they had a struggling opening pair, but they also literally have a ‘non-existent’ middle order, which has led to their best batter, Gaikwad, moving down the order.
That move didn’t really pay off, as their most consistent batter was dismissed thrice in single digits across five innings. But the bigger problem isn’t Gaikwad getting out for single digits, it is that lack of penetration with the bat that has cost them four out of five run chases.
Brevis won’t just walk in but will make a big impact.
CSK’s middle order (3/4/5) have hardly cleared the boundary rope this season, aggregating a total of 15 sixes in the season with the lowest strike rate (137.7), averaging just 23.5 runs/wicket. While Brevis isn’t going to improve the average miraculously, he will definitely add the firepower that’s required.
Whenever he’s batted across the aforementioned three positions this year, Brevis has smashed 230 runs, averaging 57.5 with a strike rate of 181.1, smashing a boundary every 3.9 deliveries. More importantly, has stayed at the crease for almost 32 deliveries on average.
Can Brevis play spin?
One of the biggest requirements to play for CSK is batter should be able to play and hit spin skilfully.
Now, Brevis isn’t a world-beater against spin, but he definitely isn’t a mug (by any measure). Across 52 innings where he’s played spin in his T20 career, the South African batter has definitely shown a great deal of intent, striking at 139.07.
But the defining feature of his game against spin is that he’s barely been dismissed by them (14 dismissals in 52 innings) while still finding a boundary every 5.9 deliveries. More often than not, Brevis has played with a great level of control against spin (79.9%), attacking almost 50% of the deliveries while at it.
He’s played all kinds of spinners - left-arm spinners, right-arm off-spinners and left-arm unorthodox ones as well - and has smashed a total of 45 sixes across 52 innings. In case you were wondering, he’s smashed Rahul Chahar (4 sixes), Adil Rashid (3 sixes) and a staggering strike rate of 600 against Akeal Hosein, one of the best spinners in world cricket.
So, he can do more than just play spin.
What’s his form like right now?
Across formats, Brevis has been the one to watch out for since the start of 2025.
In SA20 2025, South Africa’s premier T20 competition, the right-hander absolutely bossed around with 291 runs, averaging 48.5 and striking at 184.2. Across his last five SA20 innings, the youngster showed a great deal of consistency, smashing 38 (18), 44* (30), 9* (4), and 73* (32).
Even in the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge Division One 2025, Brevis showed crazy form to strike terror to the opposition, with 213 runs across five innings, striking at 146.9, with two fifties. These are outrageous numbers for a 50-over competition.
He’s been in such sizzling form that Brevis has even taken the red-ball format like a duck to water, smashing 670 runs across the last eight matches. Since the start of 2024, the right-hander has scores of 28, 15, 49, 74, 5, 6, 159 (172 balls), 2, 4, 25, 16, 99 (110), 148 (155) and 80 (57) in FC cricket.
Not only has he been batting time, he has also been smashing 'em all over the park, showing a great range of pure power-hitting and prowess.
Signing Brevis at this point might not make a difference to CSK's IPL 2025, but it will go a long way in setting them up for the future. The onus is now on the management to make the dream a reality.