Bevon Jacobs was asleep in New Zealand the moment his cricket career took an unexpected turn thousands of miles away at the IPL 2025 auction.
He woke up on Tuesday morning to his phone blowing up. "You've just been picked up by Mumbai Indians," was one of the messages from Jacobs' cousin, who had been tracking the auction from South Africa.
Towards the end of the two-day event in Jeddah, after the likes of Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen and Michael Bracewell from New Zealand had gone unsold, MI raised the paddle for 22-year old Jacobs for INR 30 lakh. Most people watching didn't know who he was.
"Oh! They [his family] couldn't believe it," Jacobs said. "I think they were more shocked than I was. We were all in a bit of a mental state this morning [where] we just didn't know what was going on. I woke my dad up and he was panicking thinking that someone was breaking in (laughs). I was like 'no no I've just been picked up in the IPL'. So that was a pretty good laugh this morning. No, it was awesome."
After playing fewer than 10 T20s, Jacobs will now join with the vastly experienced Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner at MI for IPL 2025.
Who is Bevon-John Jacobs?
Jacobs, 22, is an explosive middle-order batter who was one of the breakout stars of the 2023-24 Super Smash. He slotted in as a finisher for Canterbury Kings, hitting 134 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 188.73 - the second best after Doug Bracewell (202.02) among batters who had faced at least 50 balls in the tournament.
Jacobs had immediately caught the eye in the Super Smash, when he went after Sean Solia, the New Zealand A seamer, and Jimmy Neesham, the New Zealand international, on debut against Auckland at the Eden Park Outer Oval. He struck 42 off 20 balls and continued to produce sparkling cameos.
Jacobs was born in Pretoria in South Africa before his family emigrated to New Zealand when he was about three years old.
He emerged through the Auckland pathway system before he shifted to Canterbury, where he made his senior T20 and List A debuts. Ahead of the 2024-25 domestic season, Jacobs, however, returned to Auckland, with Jonathan Bassett-Graham, Auckland cricket's acting head of performance and talent, calling his hard-hitting as a "real bonus."
Jacobs showed his red-ball chops when he scored 75 and 79 on Plunket Shield debut, for Auckland, against Wellington last month against an attack that included Logan van Beek and Liam Dudding, who is among the top wicket-takers in this Plunket Shield.
Has Jacobs played T20 cricket outside of NZ?
Jacobs had a stint in the Queensland T20 Max, in Australia during the recent New Zealand winter, where he smashed 100 off 40 balls on the final day of the competition for South Brisbane against Toombull. Using his long reach, Jacobs kept finding - or clearing - the boundary. Mumbai are big on power-hitters with that long reach and that's perhaps why their scouting team, which includes former New Zealand captain John Wright, identified Jacobs as a potential IPL finisher.
"I guess there was a little bit of media around that tournament [Queensland T20 Max] and I happened to get some runs at the end which was nice," Jacobs said. "I played with an awesome club and a good bunch of lads there got around me and I guess it was my kind of my first experience overseas playing as an overseas player. So, I guess that might help in a sense a bit of familiarity going over there but yeah obviously it [the IPL] is a bit of a step above but I'll do what I can."
'Playing for Black Caps is a dream of mine'
While an unexpected IPL deal has put him on the global radar, Jacobs said his dream is to play for New Zealand.
"Yes 100%, I mean I think the Black Caps is is a dream of mine since I was a young kid so I think that's always going to be you know first and foremost on the radar for me," Jacobs said. "That's what I always aspire to get to. So, yeah that's definitely going to be the first option.
With a number of New Zealand internationals giving up their national and domestic contracts, Jacobs might bolt into the Black Caps white-ball team, especially if he performs well in the Super Smash and then in the IPL.
While Jacobs' immediate focus is Auckland's upcoming Plunket Shield fixture against his former team Canterbury from November 28, he has been working on strengthening his base and widening his range, which could serve him well in white-ball cricket.
"Yeah just trying to work on that technical side," Jacobs said. "I think having that strong base is just something that all cricketers need and obviously you know IPL is that T20 format.
"But I think the best way for me to perform there is if I have that strong technical base to start off with and so we're just building on a couple of factors with that and you know try and see if we can score some runs during the next game."
Over the years, MI have discovered a number of uncut gems through their robust scouting network. Is Jacobs the next one?