Inaugural SA20 season to kick off on January 10
Oct 03, 2022
Cape Town [South Africa], October 3 : With Cricket South Africa's SA20 due to commence on January 10 of next year, there are only 100 days left till the debut of a new franchise T20 tournament.
Six clubs are competing in the league: MI Cape Town, Durban Super Giants, Johannesburg Super Kings, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals, and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, which is the squad that represents Gqeberha.
They are all owned by organisations that also have IPL franchises.
The team filled their lineups at the player auction on September 19, where batter Tristan Stubbs was the most expensive player after being purchased for roughly US$ 520,000 by the Sunrisers franchise. Each squad consists of 17 players, with a maximum of seven internationals.
Faf du Plessis, a former member of the Chennai Super Kings, will serve as the head coach of the Johannesburg Super Kings. Albie Morkel, another former CSK player, will serve as the team's assistant coach.
"The player auction was a huge success for us as Johannesburg Super Kings and for the league itself," ESPNcricinfo quoted Faf du Plessis as saying.
"There were a lot of quality local and international cricketers picked up and that will certainly produce competitive cricket from the teams ...We have already started doing work behind the scenes and can't wait for the action to start come January 10th," he further added.
According to Robin Peterson, general manager of MI Cape Town and a former South African spinner, the league would be very beneficial for the growth of cricket in South Africa.
"The SA20 is going to have a massive impact on South African cricket. It is going to revolutionise the game in our country and if used correctly and to its full potential, it will be an exciting competition. Being on the ground working at domestic level, there is a certain level of excitement from cricketers that there is a league within our own country. There's knowing that if they showcase their skills, who knows where it may lead to, be it playing for the Proteas or getting deals around the world," Robin Peterson said.
The SA20 will have 33 matches, to be played from January 10 into February. All teams will play each other twice - on a home-and-away basis - during the league followed by two semi-finals and the final.
