"Important piece to CSK's puzzle...": Moody hails Dewald Brevis after breakout IPL season

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 26 (ANI): Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody hailed young South Africa and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Dewald Brevis for his "real acceleration of consistency" as a middle-order batter over the last year or so.

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Brevis concluded a memorable debut season with the five-time champions with a blistering half-century that helped CSK conclude a disappointing season with a victory over table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT).

After 10 appearances for MI from 2022-24, in which he made 230 runs in 10 matches at an average of 23.00, a strike rate of over 133.72 and the best score of 49, Brevis had a solid season with CSK, scoring 225 runs in six innings at an average of 37.50, strike rate of 180.00, with two fifties. He came in mid-season as an injury replacement for bowler Gurjanpreet Singh.

Speaking in a video by ESPNCricinfo, Moody said about Brevis, who initially played for the Mumbai Indians (MI) from 2022-24, "Over the last twelve months, there is a real acceleration of consistency in a different role to what we originally saw him. When he first came, you know, there was a lot of noise around 'Baby AB' (Brevis' nickname due to the similarities of bat swing with legendary AB de Villiers), which you have to feel sorry for him in that situation because there's nothing been there's nothing worse than being labeled, you know, underneath a former great. You know, the expectations go through the roof."

"But he was at the top of the order there at the Mumbai Indians. And so Mumbai Indians did the right thing and identified a really exciting young talent, which Mumbai have done historically pretty well, but it was too early for him to have the consistent impact you would hope for an overseas player," he added.

Moody said that over the last 12 months or so, Brevis has settled into a role of explosive middle-order batter, similar to his South African teammate Tristan Stubbs and West Indies' Rovman Powell.

"And he has done it exceptionally well in the SA20 and the brief visits he has had with CSK. So it is an important piece to CSK's puzzle because they have been so dependent just on (Shivam) Dube playing that impact role. So if you have got a right-hander and a left-hander, which they potentially have now moving forward at five and six, you can really build something considerable around, you know, that formula. Because one thing we were critical of was in the early parts of CSK was their lack of ability to target boundaries, and you got two good boundary hitters there," he concluded.

This year, Brevis has been extremely consistent in all formats of the game. Starting with T20s, he has made 516 runs in 18 matches and 16 innings at an average of 43.00 and a strike rate of 182.33. He has scored four half-centuries, with the best score of 73*.

He played a crucial role in MI Cape Town's first-ever SA20 season win this year, scoring 291 runs in 10 innings at an average of 48.50 and two half-centuries. His best score was 73*, and he scored two fifties in the season.

Brevis also proved his versatility by doing brilliantly in the longest format, scoring healthy during the Cricket South Africa (CSA) 4-Day Series Division 1 2024/25 tournament.

In the tournament, he made 573 runs in eight matches and 12 innings at an average of 47.75 and a strike rate of over 88, with two centuries and two fifties. His best score is 159. He was the second-highest run-getter in the competition so far, representing the Titans.

In his last four matches of the tournament held this year, Brevis scored 16 and 99, 148, 80, 0 and 26.

During the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge Division One, Dewald dominated the batting charts as Titans' top run-getter and overall second-highest batter, scoring 398 runs in seven innings at an average of 66.33 and a strike rate of 156.07, with a century and three fifties. His best score was 102. His team's run finished in the qualifier. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)