Ahead of India’s match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 21, South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad spoke about Dewald Brevis, who has been struggling with his form since the start of the T20 World Cup 2026. Should the management consider benching the batsman for an important match with India?
During a press conference, Thank you Conrad Told why the young batsman is with the team and what the team management is expecting from him in the tournament. In support of his comments, Conrad mentioned how the batsman triumphed in the knockout stage of SA20 2025-26 after a poor performance in the initial stage.
Should South Africa consider keeping Dewald Brevis on the bench?
The national team coach clearly stated that Brevis is in the team and is consistently in the playing eleven because of his ability to make an impact out of nowhere. The management has not selected him to play long innings in every game. He is there just to score some runs at a fast pace.
“Continuity is not really something we look for in T20 cricket. We are looking at impact and Dewald is that player. He can single-handedly impact the game,” the South Africa coach said ahead of the match with India for the Super 8 stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Conrad explains why the out-of-form batsman is with the team
In support of the comments, the former South Africa opening batsman mentioned Brewis’ stint with Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 2025-26. The Capitals qualified for the finals of the tournament, however they lost against Sunrisers Eastern Cape Town.
During the early stages of the competition, the 22-year-old was in poor form. But when the team went to play the knockout stage, they made a comeback. In the final, the right-handed batsman also registered an excellent century. Prince described Dewald Brewis as a batsman for big occasions.
The coach added, “Other players can do the same. But the bigger the opportunity, the more the real Dewald Brevis comes to the fore. We saw it in the SA20. He had a weak period, and then in the run-up to the knockout stages, he stood up.”
Notable innings of Dewald Brevis for Pretoria Capitals in SA20 2025-26
Some statistics will shed some more light on the comments made by Prince. According to Cricbuzz, Brewis scored 141 runs in his first eight innings for Pretoria Capitals, and never scored more than 36 not out in a match. He then scored 53 off 47 in Pretoria’s last league game to help them defeat Joburg Super Kings at Wanderers.
A few days later, during the qualifiers against Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the middle-order batsman scored an unbeaten 75 off 38 balls to help Pretoria Capitals qualify for the final of the tournament.
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