IPL 2022 Auction: Dewald Brevis, Abhishek Sharma and Harpreet Brar Baby AB
South Africa’s U-19 World Cup star Dewald Brevis, known as ‘Baby AB’ for his batting style’s resemblance to AB de Villiers’, was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 3 crore.
There is an uncanny similarity in their shot-making. Just like his childhood hero, Brevis can play the lap shot, scoop, switch hit, ramp and reverse sweep. He was the leading run-scorer in the recent U-19 World Cup with 506 runs (a tournament record) & hit 18 sixes (another record).
With de Villiers as his hero, Brevis was eager to join RCB in the auction, but will be playing for Mumbai Indians.
“I support RCB because AB and Virat play there,” Brevis had told the paper. “In our household, IPL is a huge thing; we hardly miss any games. The biggest conflict is between my brother and me; he is a huge MS Dhoni fan and a CSK supporter through and through,” said Brevis.
By Pratyush Raj
Welcome to our One Family D Brevis 🤩💙@mipaltan @ImRo45 #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/XDUEVPudwE
— Mumbai Indians TN FC (@MIFansClubTN) February 12, 2022
From U-19 star to IPL performer
Abhishek Sharma, who returns to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 6.5 crore, is the son of former Indian U-19 cricketer Raj Kumar Sharma, who nowadays works at Bank of India in Amritsar. Sharma later moved to the UAE and even played for their national team. On Saturday, the 21-year-old Abhishek was the subject of an intense price battle among Sunrisers, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans.
Abhishek, who was the captain of the India U-19 team which won the Asia Cup in 2018 and was impressive with his all-round performance at the 2018 U-19 World Cup. His first Indian Premier League stint was with Delhi Capitals who picked him up for Rs 55 lakh for the 2018 edition. Abhishek would then be traded to Sunrisers Hyderabad and has played in the lower-batting order for the team apart from donning the left-arm spinner’s role. After former skipper David Warner was dropped last season, he got the opportunity to open the batting and also claimed two wickets in an over against Punjab Kings. Abhishek will also lead the Punjab Ranji team this season.
By Nitin Sharma
He’s a man on a mission! 😅
Welcome back, @IamAbhiSharma4! 🧡#OrangeArmy #ReadyToRise #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/oucmgRsdWc
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) February 12, 2022
Steady progress
Harpreet Brar, the son of former Punjab Police head constable Mohinder Singh, was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 3.80 crore after a bidding war with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Last season, he was a consistent performer for the Punjab franchise and the team managed to get the left-arm spinner back at Saturday’s auction. He gave trials for then Kings XI Punjab three times before getting picked up by the franchise for 2019 for Rs 20 lakh. Brar played two matches in 2019 and only one in 2020.
In 2021, Brar managed the scalps of Virat Kohli, Glen Maxwell and AB de Villiers, and has been with the Indian team as a net bowler for the ongoing West Indies series.
By Nitin Sharma
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