JOHANNESBURG: South Africa young batter Dewald Brevis has said that it is a huge honour for him to be called 'Baby AB de Villiers'.
Brevis' heroics at the U19 World Cup have led to comparisons with Proteas legend AB de Villiers. The style and class of the youngster have seen him dubbed 'Baby AB', something he is also extremely flattered about.
"To be called Baby AB...I don't even know what to say. I am nowhere near what AB de Villiers was. He is a guy I grew up idolising, he was my role model from the first time I watched cricket. But I love being called that, it's a real honour and surreal," the official website of Cricket South Africa (CSA) quoted Brevis as saying.
Brevis, in his first season as a contracted player for the Centurion-based franchise, scored an astonishing 506 runs at the global spectacle - a tournament synonymous with launching the careers of multiple cricketing legends.
The likes of Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram all represented South Africa at the tournament over the years, while other global superstars such as Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sanath Jayasuriya and Virat Kohli also made a name for themselves at the finals.
This places Brevis in elite company and his record run-haul saw him eclipse the previous record of 505 runs that was held by India opener Shikhar Dhawan.
"It was such a big honour to accomplish what I did. I've worked so hard for it and I believe just doing the simple things right made all the difference. That helped so much in the conditions we played and against the teams we faced," said Brevis.
"I was really humbled because you see the names of all these guys that have gone to the U19 World Cups over the years. They are guys that you grew up watching and players that have turned out to be absolute legends of the game. They dominated cricket for years and to hear your name mentioned amongst theirs is unbelievable. It's a massive motivation for me to continue in the same way," he added.