Bevon Jacobs, the South African-born cricketer, has followed a path similar to Grant Elliott, Neil Wagner, Devon Conway and his teammate Dean Foxcroft, all of whom went on to represent New Zealand in international cricket. While player migration between South Africa and New Zealand is not new, what makes Jacobs’ journey stand out is his selection in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians in 2024 before even making his international debut.
The Pretoria-born middle-order batter, currently touring Bangladesh for a three-match T20I series, reflected on his journey from South Africa to New Zealand, saying his family’s decision was influenced by safety concerns and quality of life.
“There were a range of different factors, I guess. Growing up in South Africa, it’s not the safest place to live. So the family moved over more for just quality of life at that point,” Jacobs told Times of Bangladesh when asked about the move.
He added that his father, who was a cricket coach, played a major role in shaping his cricket journey after relocating. “My dad was a cricket coach, so he moved over and started coaching in New Zealand. Obviously, when I started holding a bat, he became my cricket coach as well. So yeah, I guess that was the main decision around that.”
Jacobs believes each player who moves to New Zealand has different reasons behind the decision.
“I think everyone moves for different reasons, whether it’s playing opportunity or safety or just looking for a better quality of life, which New Zealand can potentially provide for them.”
With cricket deeply rooted in his upbringing, Jacobs said the game came naturally to him from an early age.
“My dad was a cricket coach. So my journey began as early as it possibly could. He put a bat in my hands straight away.”
Although he played other sports growing up in New Zealand, Jacobs said cricket remained his biggest passion.
“I played other sports growing up, but cricket was always the one that I enjoyed playing the most. With my dad being a coach as well and loving the game, it kind of rubbed off on me. That’s what started it off. I just went through high school, through age-group stuff for Auckland, representing Auckland.”
Strong performances for Auckland Aces in the Super Smash eventually earned him an IPL contract.
“After a successful season with Auckland Aces I got picked up in the IPL auction, which was a crazy surprise but an awesome experience and something I’d love to do again one day.”
Looking back at his rapid rise, Jacobs said the journey has been surreal.
“The whole trajectory of everything after that, playing for the Blackcaps, which has always been a dream and something I want to do for as long as possible. That is a rough summary of a long journey, but it’s been pretty cool and it’s gone from zero to a hundred pretty quickly.”
Bevon Jacobs, who struck five consecutive fifties in the last Super Smash season, believes consistency alone is not what drives his performances. For him, it is more about resetting every day.
“I think it’s not about increasing performance day by day. I feel like it’s about resetting each day. I felt like I was in a good place with my batting and just with my mental game where I was able to acknowledge the runs I scored and then reset for the next game and approach it the same as I did the match previously,” he said.
Recalling his surprise selection by Mumbai Indians, the five-time IPL champions, Jacobs admitted he initially thought it was a prank. He also shared how he found out about the news in a rather unexpected way.
“Yeah, my cousin kept calling me around 4am New Zealand time during training. I didn’t pick up at first because I thought it was nothing. He kept insisting I’d been picked in the auction, but I didn’t believe it until I checked my phone and saw thousands of messages and notifications. That’s when I realised it was real. It was pretty funny and a bit of a shock.”
Although he did not get a game, he said the experience was highly valuable for his development.
“I was even not playing, but to be able to learn from the world-class players there and to see how they go about their game and try and implement the learnings they’ve had throughout their long careers into my own game,” he said.
During his time with Mumbai Indians, Jacobs shared dressing rooms with several global stars, including Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Santner and Trent Boult.
“Talking to Rohit, Bumrah, Hardik and then obviously we had some New Zealand guys there too with Boultie and Santner. Just being able to feed off of their experiences and learn more about the game really helped me. It’s an experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything,” he added.
Jacobs made his international debut for New Zealand against South Africa in a tri-nation series in Harare in 2025, a moment he describes as one of his most special memories. He recalls, “It’s a cool one. I still have a lot of family that live over there. I had my cousin there who was actually able to come and watch, which was really awesome. So it was a big thing for the family.”
“Obviously, it’s where I was born, but I was super proud to be doing it for New Zealand. It was just a bit of a full-circle moment for the family, so it was pretty special to me,” he added.
Asked whether he always believed he would play for New Zealand, Jacobs said the goal was always there, but the speed of his rise surprised him.
“I think the goal for me was always to get there eventually. But as you said, it was rapid. I didn’t expect to get there in such a short timeframe. It’s been a privilege and it’s something I’ve always dreamed of, so that was awesome.
I guess having the confidence to play at this level comes not only from myself but the people around me that support me. I’ve had a really good support group and people that I can go to and talk to about my game.”
