Sunrisers Eastern Cape reveals first two signings for inaugural Cricket South Africa T20 League
Aug 17, 2022
New Delhi [India], August 17 : Sunrisers Eastern Cape announced batter Aiden Markram and medium-pacer Ottneil Baartman as its first two signings for the inaugural edition of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) T20 League on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise revealed the name of their Cricket South Africa (CSA) T20 League franchise as 'Sunrisers Eastern Cape'.
"Announcing our first two #Risers South Africa's T20I player of the year Aiden Markram & death-bowling specialist Ottneil Baartman join #SunRisersEasternCape #OrangeArmy #SEC," tweeted Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
Notably, Markram also represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2022 IPL season, scoring 381 runs in 14 matches at an average of 47.63. He scored three half-centuries for his side, with the best individual score of 68*.
The franchise has joined four other IPL franchise owners that own a team in the CSA T20 League. These teams are- MI Cape Town (owned by owners of Mumbai Indians), Johannesburg Super Kings (owned by owners of Chennai Super Kings), Paarl Royals (owned by owners of Rajasthan Royals) and Pretoria Capitals (owned by owners of Delhi Capitals).
Earlier in April, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and SuperSport TV announced the formation of a t20 competition featuring six private-owned franchises starting from January 2023 onwards.
The six franchises of the inaugural T20 League in South Africa will be able to sign players from a world-class pool made up of some of the best local and international cricketers. This is in addition to all contracted Proteas and domestic players who have committed to the League.
The six franchises will have a squad of 17 players and will be able to pre-sign up to five players made up of three international players, one Proteas player and one uncapped South African player prior to the auction.
In July, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced that former captain Graeme Smith has been appointed as the Commissioner of South Africa's new T20 league.
Players from across a host of countries have expressed their interest to be a part of the League and are currently being signed up for the 2023 season and beyond. An auction will be held in the coming weeks, which will increase the number of signings to the league. Over 30 marquee international cricketers have been signed for the inaugural T20 League in South Africa.
