“Maybe some people misunderstood my tweet” - RCB legend issues clarification over recent Dewald Brevis & CSK tweet

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend AB de Villiers has justified his recent tweets regarding South African batter Dewald Brevis. The remarks came days after he lauded the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for buying him as a replacement player mid IPL 2025 season. The cricketer-turned-analyst reiterated that several IPL franchises, including RCB and Mumbai Indians, missed out on the talented batter's services at last year's mega auction.

For the unversed, Brevis recently slammed the second-fastest ton (41 balls) for South Africa in the second T20I against Australia. The 22-year-old smashed 125* off just 56 balls. Following his exploits, De Villiers wrote on X:

"There was such a golden opportunity for IPL teams to pick up Dewald Brevis at the auction! Missed out badly. CSK either got very lucky, or maybe the biggest master stroke ever. The boy can play @DewaldBrevis."

AB de Villiers

@ABdeVilliers17

There was such a golden opportunity for IPL teams to pick up Dewald Brevis at the auction! Missed out badly. CSK either got very lucky, or maybe the biggest master stroke ever👏 The boy can play @BrevisDewald

"Mind-boggling that he wasn’t picked up at all! To think that he came in as an injury sub," he added.

AB de Villiers

@ABdeVilliers17

Mind boggling that he wasn’t picked up at all! To think that he came in as an injury sub🤷‍♂️😄

A week ago, however, Ravichandran Ashwin shocked the cricketing world, claiming that CSK might have paid ‘extra money’ to buy Brevis. The franchise rubbished this claim and came out with an official statement clarifying that signing the South African was legitimate and in accordance with IPL rules.

De Villiers' original tweet about IPL teams not picking up Brevis was somehow linked with the ongoing controversy. However, he clarified the matter on his YouTube channel saying:

“2:40 – I purely just wanted to say that a lot of teams missed out, and I think that was the message from me. People, organizers of the IPL franchises, the owners, whoever, the scouts, I felt, got it horribly wrong in that main auction, not picking him up. What a fantastic opportunity they had. I think teams like RCB, obviously, he was at MI before, they decided to let go of him and not get him back. So, big loss I feel for a lot of teams, and he’s showing that now. My tweet was all about, sort of, just show that how capable this guy is, how talented he is.”

“2:15- I also tweeted about him being picked up at the IPL or not being picked up initially and then getting into CSK’s team because of an injury. I thought maybe some people misunderstood my tweet. It had nothing to do with any technical or anything to do with the rules of the IPL,” he added.

The Super Kings bought Brevis as a replacement player for ₹2.2 crore mid-IPL 2025 season. The right-handed batter delivered with the bat, smashing 225 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 180, including two fifties.

Brevis previously played for MI in 2022 and 2024, scoring 161 (7 innings) and 69 runs (3 innings), respectively. They released him before the 2025 mega auction.

“When to take the foot off the pedal” – AB de Villiers’ words of wisdom for Dewald Brevis

AB de Villiers further shared a precious advice for Dewald Brevis, suggesting he keep changing his gears throughout his innings. He asked the CSK batter to play both defensive and attacking shots.

The former South Africa captain said in the same video:

“1:48 – Brevis, I mean, when he gets going, it is just wonderful to watch. He strikes fear into all bowling attacks, and that’s the kind of player you want in your team, but that is also an area of concern for me where he struggles to sort of get out of that fifth gear back to third and fourth, just to sort of learn to control the game better. I think it's going to be very important for him moving forward.”

“Understanding the change of gears and when to take the foot off the pedal a little bit. But obviously, a natural ball striker. He strikes fear into all bowling attacks and that’s the kind of player you want in your team,” the 41-year-old added.

Following his T20I heroics, Brevis made his ODI debut against Australia in the series opener in Cairns on Tuesday, August 19.