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The SA 20 final ended last month, where the Sunrisers Eastern Cape emerged victorious at the SA 20 inaugural league. In an exclusive interview with Betway, the legendary South African batsman AB de Villiers discussed the young talent on the SA20 team, ‘Baby AB’ aka Dewald Brevis, and how cricketers can manage the multiple game formats.

The interview started with de Villiers talking about the young talent on the team, like Dewald Brevis. The cricketer agreed Brevis reminds him of Suryakumar Yadav’s game. He stated Brevis’ approach toward the game is similar to Yadav’s. Both players are aggressive and ‘do not let the bowlers settle.’

Talking about young Dewald Brevis, de Villiers said he has a lot of learning ahead of him. He stated SKY has more experience performing for the Mumbai Indians during IPL matches.

Discussing how the SA20 proved an outstanding showcase for South African cricketers, de Villiers states that SA20 offered global exposure to domestic players. He explained how some South African players from the SA20 teams will soon play in international franchise competitions, benefiting the South African team.

Mr. 360 also talked about scheduling issues and how players from the franchise competitions must ‘remain interested in international cricket and see it as the ultimate.’ He said, “It’s a very difficult job for the ICC because you can’t deny the excitement around these franchise events. The SA20 has been great. But we also want it to result in top-class international cricket.”

When asked about the pressure of multiple game formats and Ben Stokes’ retirement from ODI cricket, he said he does not want to be the one who says it is okay to give up on a game format, but it is also crucial since the global cricket boards communicate with the players to understand their aims and ‘where they fit in.’ He also stated that it is prominent to get the experience of franchise cricket and play along with top world-class talent.

He said, “I think that’s something that could have happened better during my career, because it was all so new. I think each year you need to reset, pinpoint your targets and map it out. Communication is the key to keeping everybody happy.”

The South African batsman also expressed his views on Marco Jansen’s performance in the SA20 and whether it is easy to work on both batting and bowling. Praising Jansen’s performance, de Villiers said that Jansen has performed exceptionally in many past seasons. He said he did not know much about Jansen until his performance in one of the IPL seasons. Quoting Jansen’s example, de Villiers stated the importance of franchise leagues.

He also said he believes Jansen is a ‘bowling all-rounder,’ who contributes to batting like Jacques Kallis and Ben Stokes and how it is rewarding to contribute to both batting and bowling.

He further stated, “Having seen Marco Jansen in Test cricket, though, you can’t just rock up and bowl like that without it being your speciality. You’re probably not going to score runs at the level of Kallis, say, so make sure your bowling is right up there, try to be the best in the world, and then contribute with the bat to make yourself even more useful.”