CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s new Twenty20 competition will be called SA20 the six teams having already begun the recruiting process and a player auction to finalize the squads to be held later this month, the league announced Wednesday.
The league commissioner, former South African captain Graeme Smith, has said teams will be allowed to field a maximum of four foreigners per game when competition begins next year.
It is due to start on January 23, as South Africa makes a late entry into the increasingly lucrative T20 market, and will run for a month.
The six franchises, based in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Paarl, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria, have all been bought by Indian Premier League owners and Smith said they will be able to choose their teams from a “quality list” when a player auction takes place on September 19.
“We have a long list of international players that we are sorting out for the auction. We are still finalizing some auction details and we are sorting out player registration due to the large number of players,” he said. said Smith. said.
“There was a pre-signing element that took place and the teams have a $2 million purse that already includes the pre-signed players.”
“A lot of work has gone into this and we’re very excited about what we’ve done and what we can create in the future,” he added.
England internationals Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone have already been signed with West Indians Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers.
The start of SA20 clashes with the later stages of Australia’s Big Bash League, but Smith said agreements are in place for BBL players who have signed for SA20 to leave and play in South Africa.
“They have a different structure this season, so players from our league who signed up will be there until the first days of January so they are available,” Smith said during a virtual press conference.
“They will be released to come and play here, from where they will be fully available for the South African league.”
The league commissioner, former South African captain Graeme Smith, has said teams will be allowed to field a maximum of four foreigners per game when competition begins next year.
It is due to start on January 23, as South Africa makes a late entry into the increasingly lucrative T20 market, and will run for a month.
The six franchises, based in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Paarl, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria, have all been bought by Indian Premier League owners and Smith said they will be able to choose their teams from a “quality list” when a player auction takes place on September 19.
“We have a long list of international players that we are sorting out for the auction. We are still finalizing some auction details and we are sorting out player registration due to the large number of players,” he said. said Smith. said.
“There was a pre-signing element that took place and the teams have a $2 million purse that already includes the pre-signed players.”
“A lot of work has gone into this and we’re very excited about what we’ve done and what we can create in the future,” he added.
England internationals Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone have already been signed with West Indians Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers.
The start of SA20 clashes with the later stages of Australia’s Big Bash League, but Smith said agreements are in place for BBL players who have signed for SA20 to leave and play in South Africa.
“They have a different structure this season, so players from our league who signed up will be there until the first days of January so they are available,” Smith said during a virtual press conference.
“They will be released to come and play here, from where they will be fully available for the South African league.”
