The new T20 franchise league for South Africa (CSA) has been given the name "SA20." The player auction for SA20's inaugural season will take place on September 19, according to league commissioner and former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who also announced this during a virtual news conference.
On Sunday night, the player registrations for the SA20 player auction concluded, with players from all over the world including both seasoned and up-and-coming South African talent expressing enthusiastic interest.
Each of the six IPL franchise-owned teams—Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Pretoria Capitals, Paarl Royals, MI Cape Town, Johannesburg Super Kings, and Durban franchise—has already signed up to five players (Pavel has signed four, Pretoria and Eastern Cape have each signed two), according to a direct-acquisition process.
The maximum squad size for the franchises is 17, with a total purse of US$2 million. Seven international cricketers and ten South African players are available to the six franchises, and the starting eleven will follow the IPL's formula of four foreigners and seven locals.
"Another big event happened today when we unveiled the SA20. As South Africa enters this brand-new and exciting period of cricket, we chose a moniker because it is straightforward and can be distinctively ours. In T20 cricket, dropping the T signifies our desire to be unique. We want to alter the game for both players and viewers, and most importantly, we want to establish a League that all South Africans can participate in "Smith added.
In addition to the Proteas' world-class contracted players, the SA20 has drawn some of T20 cricket's biggest stars, including England's Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali, the West Indies' Jason Holder, and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan.
"With every significant milestone we pass until January 2023, the anticipation grows, and today marks another step in the direction of the first ball being bowled. We think that as we strive to make the SA20 a world-class competition that South Africans can be proud of, fans will be able to relate to our brand "Smith tacked on.
The SA20 will directly compete with the UAE's ILT20, which is also set to start in January of the following year. When Bangladesh's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) are on, both leagues will be in play.
This will be South Africa's third effort to establish a franchise T20 league in the nation with SA20. The 2017 attempt to launch the Global League T20 failed after prior tries.
The Mzansi Super League, which took its place, was held in 2018 and 2019, but didn't receive the major broadcast rights. Instead, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), a public broadcaster, obtained broadcast rights for a considerably smaller fee. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the league has not been played since 2020. It will now make way for the SA20.