Image of Dewald Brevis in an interaction with Mumbai Indians
South African batting sensation Dewald Brevis, who is often compared to the great A B de Villiers, says Sachin Tendulkar has always been his inspiration and he would like to emulate the Indian icon while trying to create his identity in international cricket.
The 18-year-old, who has been picked by Mumbai Indians for the upcoming IPL, has been nicknamed 'Baby AB' for his resemblance to de Villiers' playing style.
Brevis scored 506 runs in the recent U-19 World Cup, the most in a single edition of the tournament, surpassing flamboyant India opener Shikhar Dhawan's record of 505 runs in the 2004 edition and also picked up seven wickets with his part-time leg-spin.
"The way he (Tendulkar) played was always an inspiration to me. My favourite innings of his is the ODI double-century, which happened to be against South Africa.
I remember watching the match with my brother - it was an amazing innings," the 18-year-old told 'Mumbaindians.com'.
"I read his autobiography 'Playing it My Way' and there are a lot of things from there that I'd like to implement in my game. One thing I learnt from him is that you have to be humble because pride can be your downfall."
Brevis said while it is an honour to be compared to de Villiers, he would like to create his own identity.
"It is an honour to be compared to him (AB De Villiers), but it is important for me to have my own identity. I want to be known as Dewald Brevis," he said.
"We went to the same school and played under the same coach so when I first met him, I could not get a word out. There were many things I wanted to ask him but I was star-struck," the right-handed batter remembered.
Brevis said he is now keen to pick the mind of de Villiers, who has retired from all cricket, before he starts his IPL journey.
De Villiers played for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
"I would say he (AB) is great to learn from - he makes time for you and that is something I really appreciate. I mean, he is AB de Villiers and he could be a very different guy but he is very humble. I plan to ask him about his knowledge of the IPL soon," he said.
His World Cup performance prompted Mumbai Indians to shell out Rs 3 crore for him at the IPL mega-auction and Brevis said he is now looking forward to sharing the dressing room with India and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma, who is a white-ball legend.
"I would love to share the dressing room with Rohit Sharma. He is a wonderful batter, smokes the bowlers and I have seen him rise through the ranks over the years," he said.
"I am grateful that both Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah are on the team. I think it will be tougher to face Bumrah, I have seen him bowl live at Supersport Park (in Centurion) for India against South Africa and it is surreal that I will be facing him in the nets soon."
Brevis said his family was emotionally overwhelmed after it got to know of the massive IPL deal he had landed.
"My parents were also really excited. They started crying in all that excitement because, we as a family, have followed the IPL and MI all through. My first memory of playing cricket was in our backyard and from replicating IPL games there to actually playing for MI is a dream come true.
"It gives me a lot of confidence to be picked by the most successful IPL team and motivates me to add one more trophy to that cabinet.
MI has always been one of my favourite teams."
- Reported by PTI
