Dewald Brevis may have exploded onto the IPL scene as “Baby AB”, but the Chennai Super Kings batter says one of the biggest lessons of his career has come from simply watching and learning from MS Dhoni. Brevis revealed that Dhoni taught him the difference between confidence and overconfidence, advice that continues to stay with him during his time at CSK.
The South African youngster has spent the last two seasons inside the Chennai Super Kings dressing room after first joining the franchise in IPL 2025 as an injury replacement for Gurjapneet Singh. Speaking to ANI about Dhoni’s influence, Brevis admitted the former CSK captain’s words left a lasting impact on him very early into his stint with the franchise.
“We do have conversations,” Brevis said while speaking about Dhoni.
“The best advice I got from MS Dhoni was in my first year. He told me you get two sides: you get overconfidence and confidence, and just to earn more on the side of confidence. That’s been the one piece of advice that really stuck with me from him,” Brevis added.
The youngster also opened up on how simply observing Dhoni around the team environment has become a learning experience in itself.
“Whenever I’ve been in the environment where he is and just seeing how he does his things and the way he lives, the person he is, he’s just being himself, and that’s really amazing to see,” Brevis said.
“Obviously, how humble he is and the way he carries himself, whenever he’s on the field or off the field, I’ve seen both of that, just to look up to.”
Brevis also admitted that Dhoni’s experience across different situations and pressure moments continues to make him one of the biggest influences inside the CSK dressing room despite missing almost the entire IPL 2026 season through injury.
“He’s been in so many different situations, he’s played so many different knocks and amazing knocks, and yeah, it’s just learning from him just by watching sometimes,” Brevis said.
“It’s amazing to have him. Like he’s been part of us as well when it comes to training and stuff. I wish he could have played, like I think a lot of people wish that.”
HOW HAS DEWALD BREVIS’S CSK STINT BEEN LIKE?
Brevis made an immediate impact after joining Chennai Super Kings during IPL 2025 as a replacement signing.
The South African batter completely transformed CSK’s middle order during his short breakout season, smashing 225 runs in just six innings at an average of 37.50 and a frightening strike rate of 180.00.
Nicknamed “Baby AB” because of his resemblance in style to AB de Villiers, Brevis quickly became one of the most entertaining hitters in the tournament. He smashed 17 sixes across just six innings and instantly gave CSK a far more explosive finishing presence.
One of his defining knocks came against Gujarat Titans when he blasted a match-winning 57 off only 23 balls to announce himself properly in yellow.
That explosive finish to IPL 2025 convinced CSK to retain him for the 2026 season as part of their longer-term middle-order plans.
This season, though, has been slightly quieter for the youngster.
Across 10 matches in IPL 2026, Brevis has scored 143 runs at an average of 20.43 and a strike rate of 132.41 while mostly operating through the middle order.
But despite the dip in consistency, there have still been flashes of the same fearless hitting.
His counter-attacking 44 off 27 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad helped pull CSK out of trouble during a difficult innings, while knocks of 41 against Kolkata Knight Riders and 25 off 16 against Lucknow Super Giants also showed glimpses of his finishing ability.
More importantly for CSK, Brevis still remains one of the younger players the franchise clearly views as a major long-term project.
MS DHONI’S INJURY MARRED IPL 2026
IPL 2026, meanwhile, became one of the strangest CSK seasons in years because of MS Dhoni’s prolonged injury absence.
The legendary wicketkeeper-batter suffered a calf strain during pre-season training, an injury that was initially expected to sideline him only briefly. But repeated setbacks during rehabilitation, including a thumb injury sustained in the nets, ended up ruling him out for the entire league phase.
Dhoni eventually missed 14 consecutive matches and has still not officially returned to the playing XI.
Even though he remained unavailable, his presence around the squad continued to dominate attention throughout the season.
One of the biggest moments came during CSK’s final home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad when Dhoni walked onto the field during the innings break in full CSK colours to join the squad photograph. The sight immediately sparked massive celebrations from the Chepauk crowd despite him not even playing.
And inside the dressing room too, younger players like Brevis clearly still see Dhoni as one of the biggest influences around the franchise.
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