South Africa have been eliminated from the ongoing ICC U19 World Cup 2022 after a six-wicket loss to England in the Super League quarterfinal on Wednesday (January 2). Yet, the ‘Rainbow Nation’ has found a capable replacement to one of their greatest cricketing icons Abraham Benjamin de Villiers. The player who has turned into an overnight sensation in the ongoing tournament is, as a matter of fact, Dewald Brevis famously known as ‘Baby AB’.

The youth who achieved global acknowledgment in this competition is known for his ability to score in any area regardless of where the field placements have been made courtesy of his timing and strokeplay and he put the stage on fire right in the Proteas’ first match against India scoring a splendid 65.

Brevis then, at that point, proceeded to score a match-winning 104 against Uganda as the 2014 champs registered a comprehensive 121-run victory. The 18-year- old once again stepped up for his side when it mattered the most in the knockouts with a brilliant  97 but unfortunately, with hardly any support from the other end, the South Africans were skittled for only 209 without playing their quota of 50 overs, and youthful Englishman Jacob Bethell’s quickfire 88 surpassed his first innings performances.

Dewald Brevis: Here’s why he is known as ‘Baby AB’

Dewald Brevis is known as ‘Child AB’ in South Africa as his batting stance and timing have a striking resemblance to AB de Villiers. Truth be told, the South African dugout was seen holding a placard that read ‘BABY AB!’

Dewald Brevis is known as "Baby AB" in South Africa and last night when he completed his fifty against India U-19, his team-mates showed it from the dressing room. pic.twitter.com/6AhmST0AJB

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 16, 2022

While he is known as ‘Baby AB’, the emerging cricketer is also a die-hard fan of De Villiers in real life. He played for the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) and coincidentally, it is the same school from where his inspiration AB De Villiers had done his schooling. Brevis has so far amassed 362 runs averaging 90 and a strike rate of 86 and as of now, he stays the leading run-scorer of the 2022 U19 World Cup. The youngster has a century and three half-hundreds of years to his tally.

In an interview to ICC, Dewald Brevis additionally said that he is a big fan of AB de Villiers and that he loves watching him bat too. In addition, he likewise wears the pullover number 17 and had asked De Villiers prior to donning that number.