IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have roped in South African batter Dewald Brevis, also known as 'Baby AB' among cricket fans, as a replacement for injured uncapped seamer Gurjapneet Singh for the remainder of the season. Brevis, who represented the Mumbai Indians (MI) before, joins CSK for $257,649 (INR 2.2 crore).

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Brevis rose to the limelight riding on his 2022 Under-19 World Cup success, where he hit the most runs recorded by a batter in a single edition (506 runs from six matches). The right-handed batter made headlines for batting like his cricket idol and South Africa great AB de Villiers, later cracking his maiden IPL deal with MI, where Brevis played ten games across three seasons, scoring 230 runs and striking at above 133. 

Although he hasn't played enough cricket for his national team, representing them just twice in T20Is (in 2023), Brevis has featured in 81 T20s, scoring 1781 runs, with a highest score of 162. 

Outside of the IPL, Brevis has played across several franchise-based T20 leagues worldwide, including the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Major League Cricket (MLC), and the SA20 in South Africa, where he helped MI Cape Town win their maiden title the past season, scoring 291 runs (the sixth highest) striking at 184.17.

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Brevis at the 2025 IPL auction

Brevis registered his name for the IPL 2025 mega auction late last year at a base price of INR 75 lakh, finding no bidders. He didn't let his head down, and instead, worked hard to regain form. He performed well in his third SA20 season and carried that forward to the domestic season for the Titans, finishing the second-highest run-getter in the One-Day and first-class tournaments.

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Meanwhile, CSK bought lanky seamer Gurjapneet Singh for INR 2.2 crore at the auction, benching him thus far this season.

The franchise, however, sits at the bottom of the points table with just two wins from seven contested matches in IPL 2025, with four points to their name. 

CSK faces MI next coming Sunday (Apr 20) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

(With inputs from agencies)