SA20 auction: Dewald Brevis sold for record R 16.5 million as Super Kings lose star

South Africa’s young batting sensation Dewald Brevis etched his name in the history books as he became the most expensive player in the history of SA20. The 22-year-old got sold for a whopping R 16.5 million to Pretoria Capitals during the SA20 2025-26 auction on Tuesday, September 9.

Brevis is one of the most sought-after young players in world cricket, given his remarkable exploits both at the international level and T20 leagues across the globe. Both Joburg Super Kings and Pretoria Capitals expressed their interest in buying Brevis as they were in an intense bidding war, but it was the Capitals, who won the final bid.

Pretoria Capitals head coach Sourav Ganguly expressed excitement on acquiring the services of Brevis and praised the youngster for his remarkable form in the past year.

“We’re very happy, I think he's a very good player. Obviously, 16.5 million is the other side of the way of looking at it, but just in terms of quality on our pitch, our ground, Pretoria, I hope he does well. We haven't thought so far yet (on making him captain in future). He's a tremendous talent, his game has really gone forward in the last 1 and a half years as you saw against Australia in Australia recently,” said Ganguly.

“He's a game changer, and that's what you need in T20 cricket. We have Russell, Rutherford, who can actually really steam it up. I hope he does well. I never relate performance to money, leaving aside the 16.5 million, and I, I think he's a great talent. He plays spin well, which is very important, and looking at everything,” he added.

Brevis played a pivotal role in MI Cape Town clinching their maiden SA20 title in 2025, scoring 291 runs at an impressive average of 48.5 and a striking strike rate of 184.18. Earlier, before Brevis, Aiden Markram was sold for R 14 million, becoming the first player to cross the R 10 million mark in SA20 history.

However, Brevis eventually surpassed his auction price with his record bid. Before the duo, Tristan Stubbs was the most expensive player in SA20 history, having been sold for R 9.2 million ahead of the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2023.