Dewald Brevis - "I want to be the best cricketer that has ever lived, will do whatever it takes to do that"

Young South African cricketer Dewald Brevis has said he wants to become the best cricket player ever lived. He went on to assert that he will do 'whatever it takes' in his endeavor to achieve the same.

The upcoming Proteas star came into the limelight when he clobbered two centuries and three fifties in the 2022 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup held in the West Indies. He was named Player of the Tournament for scoring 506 runs in six innings at an average of 84.33. With his tally, he also broke Shikhar Dhawan's record (505) for most runs in a single edition of the Men's U-19 World Cup.

Often compared to legendary former South African batter AB de Villiers, Brevis is yet to make a mark on the big stage. He has only featured in two T20Is for the Proteas, scoring five runs.

Speaking to South Africa’s Sunday Times, the 21-year-old opened up on the lofty goals he has set for himself as a cricketer. He said (as quoted by wisden.com):

“I want to get into all the Proteas squads, to be an all-format player. I want to be noticed as an all-rounder, not just a batter. I hope in the new season I really get more opportunities with the ball."

"I’m never happy or satisfied with my performance, I feel that’s dangerous. When you think you’ve ‘made it’ or you’ve achieved something great, the game will bring you back down to earth very quickly. I’m always in competition with myself. I want to be Dewald Brevis," he added.

Brevis further stated that he doesn't want to play the game, but also wants to inspire people with his best performances.

“I want to be the best Dewald Brevis, play with a smile, enjoy the game and do my best. If I do that, put in the hard work, I know exactly what will happen. I know exactly what I want. I want to inspire people. I want to be the best cricketer that has ever lived. I will do whatever it takes to do that,” he concluded.

Apart from being a dashing right-handed batter, Brevis can also roll his arm over and bowl some handy leg spinners.

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Dewald Brevis' record across formats so far

Apart from two T20Is for South Africa, Brevis has so far featured in 12 first-class matches, scoring 749 runs at an average of 37.45, with two hundreds and four fifties. In List A cricket, he has 667 runs in 17 matches, averaging 41.68, with two centuries and as many half-centuries.

Looking at his overall T20 career, the youngster has played 66 matches, scoring 1,457 runs at an average of 24.69 and a strike rate of 139.69. He slammed 162 off 57 balls for the Titans against the Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge in October 2022.