Sourav Ganguly made his first big decision as head coach of the Pretoria Capitals, as he bought Dewald Brevis in the recent SA20 2026 auction for a record price of Rand 16.50 million. This made Brevis the most expensive player in SA20 history.

The 22-year-old was anticipated to be the star, and when his name was revealed, the Paarl Royals and Johannesburg Super Kings engaged in a fierce bidding battle.

After a fierce battle between Joburg Super Kings’ Stephen Fleming and Paarl Royals’ Kumar Sangakkara, Brevis's value hit the 10-million mark in four minutes, to the cheers of the audience. Fleming believed he had his man when Sangakkara withdrew. Then Ganguly and Capitals entered the fray and bid Rand 10.1 million, putting Fleming under pressure.

JSK then upped the bid to Rand 13 million, giving Capitals a little jolt, but Ganguly convinced the Pretoria management to continue, and when the bidding reached R16.50 million, JSK and Fleming bowed out.

Ganguly and PC management were seen rejoicing on getting one of the hottest young South African stars, Brevis, in their squad.

When Ganguly was questioned about how high he was willing to bid for Brevis in the bidding war after the auction. He quipped, "Till Flem (Fleming) put the paddle down."

“You know, when he got me out too many times when he was captain, and we went to New Zealand. In the green seaming pitches, he had fielders all over, and they kept decking around all the time. So, this was an opportunity to beat him, and we went past him,” Ganguly added.

Brevis has already played in the IPL and is a well-known entity in T20 cricket. He presently plays for CSK and has previously represented MI. In addition, he holds the records for both the fastest 150 and the highest score in South African T20 cricket.