Dewald Brevis and the Pretoria Capitals were always destined to cross paths.
The 22-year-old wunderkid’s passion for the game was ignited on the Centurion grass banks, playing with his brother, and supporting his heroes in sky blue.
The path may have been a winding one via MI Cape Town and Newlands, but after three seasons, and a record-breaking R16.5 million auction deal, Brevis will now head home to play in front of his people.
“You always reflect and I think it was a special three years I had with MI. We’ve had our ups, and we had our downs, and it was amazing what we did in the last year. I’ll always remember that,” Brevis told Betway SA20.
“But this is a new chapter for me. To be with Pretoria, I’m super excited. It is my hometown.
“I know Supersport Park (Centurion) very well. It’s very close to my heart, that ground. That’s where me and my brother, we grew up watching cricket, running around the field, playing next to the field. So, to be able to be there, I’m really excited.”
Brevis, 22, was the fulcrum of a bidding war between the Capitals and Joburg Super Kings at last week’s thrilling Betway SA20 auction in Johannesburg.
Capitals head coach Sourav Ganguly was determined to edge out his JSK counterpart and former international rival Stephen Fleming for Brevis’ multi-skilled T20 services.
The pair comfortably went past Durban’s Super Giants’ record R14 million bid for Aiden Markram, which had only 12 minutes earlier smashed Tristan Stubbs’ R9.2 million mark from the Season 1 auction.
But Brevis is determined not to let the magnitude of the record price tag affect him.
“No, not at all, I don’t think I will change. I’ll remain the same. I’m not going to change who I am as a person,” he said.
“I’m just playing to enjoy it, playing for God, and I think just always to have fun and to enjoy it, to play with a smile.”
Brevis is looking forward to meeting up with his new teammates, and believes the Capitals have the quality to go all the way after missing out on the playoffs the last two seasons.
“I can’t wait to see the team, get together with them and just make memories and have fun.
“I think it’s great. It’s great to have Lungs (Lungi Ngidi) there. I think we’ve had a lot of time we spent together.
“It started in Bangladesh, so we’ve got good memories. Lizzie (Lizaad Williams), a lot of our local guys, I’m so happy for Connor (Esterhuizen) as well. He’s a great player. He’ll do great for us.
“If you look at all the overseas, I think we’ve got a good balanced team, strong batting line-up, power-hitters, guys that would love Supersport Park. If you look at (Sherfane) Rutherford and Andre Russell.
“So yes, I think it’s great. It’s a great all-round team. I’m very excited to just see how the boys go and how they enjoy playing there because it’s a beautiful place to bat and to play cricket.”
The Capitals fans will certainly be streaming into Centurion – the venue for the most Betway SA20 Catch A R2million winners – to get a glimpse of their new hero and hopefully grab a hold of one of Brevis’ sixes on the grass banks when the first home match gets underway on December 27 against Joburg Super Kings.
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