We speak to South Africa legend AB de Villiers ahead of the SA20 final, which Pretoria Capitals are favourites to win in the latest SA20 betting.

The SA20 has shown off lots of young talent like Dewald Brevis. How do you think he compares to the likes of Suryakumar Yadav?

There are certainly similarities in the way that they approach the game. They’re both really aggressive, they want to take the bowlers on and they don’t let the bowlers settle.

Dewald is obviously a lot younger and has still got a lot to learn, whereas SKY is experienced these days. He come a long way having performed well for the Mumbai Indians at the IPL. But they both excite me a lot.

How important was playing with experienced players in franchise cricket for your development?

It’s difficult to put into words the value of spending time with some of the best players in the world from different countries.

In my first year in the IPL with the Delhi Daredevils I found myself in a dressing room with Glenn McGrath, Tillakaratne Dilshan and various others. The impact that had on my game was immense and you can see how my game went to the next level from 2008 onwards.

You pick up so many hints and tips for your own game by watching how the best players prepare and if you take on board one or two things, it will make you a much better player.

How can South Africa begin to play the fearless cricket that other countries do to get back to their dominating days of old?

The SA20 can only be good for our cricket, that’s for sure. The players get global exposure all of a sudden – normal domestic players are being watched all over the world.

I think we’ll see a few of these players now feature in other global franchise competitions, which in turn helps us further.

There are obviously issues with the scheduling, too, though. We need to make sure that players coming through these competitions remain interested in international cricket and see it as the ultimate.

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.

We saw Ben Stokes retire from ODI cricket. Do you think it has become increasingly difficult to play all three formats?

I don’t want to be the guy to say it’s right to give up a format or two, but I think it’s pretty important now that various boards around the world have communications with players early on to understand where they fit in and what they want to achieve.

Ultimately, it’s so important to go and experience franchise cricket with world-class talent, like Dewald Brevis is doing in the SA20, so it does require a lot of planning.

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 they key to keeping everybody happy.

Do you think T20 has become more demanding? Players like Joe Root and Kane Williamson are having to change their techniques to keep up now.

You have to evolve as a player or you will stagnate and end up not enjoying your game.

You constantly need to be resetting, checking where you’re at with your game, what you want to achieve and what you want to work on. That’s what always kept me fresh and committed.

When you feel like you can’t raise that bar anymore, it’s difficult. That was my cue to move on.

It’s great to see world-class players taking their games to the next level, coming up with new shots, finding ways to put more pressure on bowlers because they have that burning desire to be the best player in the world.

Marco Jansen has had a great SA20. How easy it these days to work on your batting and bowling?

He’s had a fantastic couple of seasons. He was a player I didn’t really know about and then he erupts in one IPL season, which again shows the beauty of franchise leagues and scouting.

I do believe he’s still a bowling all-rounder, but he obviously has the opportunity to consistently contribute with both bat and ball. For the like of Ben Stokes and Jacques Kallis, there’s noting more rewarding than contributing with both skills.

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.