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Former South African legendary cricketer AB de Villiers claimed that he had sent a text message to Dewald Brevis after the young sensation's ongoing rough patch for MI Cape Town in the SA20 2024 season.
Brevis has scored just 28 runs in four games so far this season, with the highest score being just 10 in his previous game against the Paarl Royals. De Villiers has been pretty vocal about him being a mentor to the young South African prodigy.
In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what AB de Villiers had to say about Dewald Brevis:
"I texted him last night, I said ' You're close! Keep your head up. Keep going one ball at a time.' He replied with 'I will do that. Thank you very much' with a heart emoji."
He added:
"He (Brevis) is in a bit of a hurry. He is a young man and it's understandable. He has a lot of weight in his shoulders, largely because of me. I am so sorry about that. All these people who put so much attention on him adds to the pressure. He knows how fickle the game of cricket is. It is about millimeters."
De Villiers believes the experience of going through such a rough patch will only help Brevis in the long run. Even former Sri Lankan speedster and MI Cape Town bowling Lasith Malinga threw his weight behind the youngster recently.
AB de Villiers on Ryan Rickelton's incredible SA20 2024
AB de Villiers accepted that he was a bit shocked with the way MI Cape Town opener Ryan Rickelton has gone about his business so far in the SA20 2024. In just four games, Rickelton averages a mind-boggling 112.33 with 337 runs to his name and is at the top of the run-scorers list.
On this, De Villiers stated:
"He (Rickelton) swept me off my feet. I didn't see this coming. I knew he was a consistent performer in domestic cricket but the way he is batting, he has taken his cricket to the next level. A superstar for South Africa and I hope some IPL teams have taken notice of his ability to win games."
Rickelton scored his fourth consecutive fifty of the season in his previous game against the Paarl Royals. His 94* off 52 balls helped MI Cape Town comfortably win the game by eight wickets while chasing a target of 173.
