SA20 teams announce preliminary squads ahead of player auctions

JOHANNESBURG: All six SA20 franchises on Thursday announced a competitive set of preliminary squads ahead of season 2, the auction for which will take place on September 27.

"The six SA20 teams have announced a competitive set of preliminary squads ahead of the season two auction taking place on September 27th. All six squads have placed a strong emphasis on retaining homegrown South African talent, combined with the quality experience of overseas players," said a statement from the league.

Season one saw the rise and prominence of young stars performing on a global stage, with the international recruits adding their skill and expertise to produce a world-class display of entertaining and competitive cricket.

The planning and strategy behind the scenes to confirm squads will culminate at the auction, with teams making last-bid strategic purchases to complete their squads. For season two, each team has a salary purse cap of R 39.1 million – an increase of R5.1 million from last season.

There will be 15 auction picks available across the six teams, in addition to the new Rookie player to be added to the squad – this is a player aged under 22 that has not played SA20 before, making it a total of 21 picks on the day.

SA20 League Commissioner, Graeme Smith, expects another captivating season of South Africa’s premier T20 League: "Season 2 of the SA20 is shaping up to be another spectacular showcase of world class cricket and entertainment. The quality of the players already included in the squads, including a few newcomers, is testimony to the success of the inaugural season. Our planning is on track and we look forward to the auction and welcoming players and fans in season 2."

Sunrisers Eastern Cape have retained the core of their championship-winning squad with a few notable overseas inclusions, including former ICC World No 1 T20 batter Dawid Malan, Liam Dawson and Craig Overton (who is their Wildcard) . This has left them with only three picks and a purse of R1.865 million available at the auction.

Runners-up Pretoria Capitals have greater room for movement with a remaining purse of R 9.737 million to add a further six players to complete their 19-player squad. Five of those six players can potentially still be overseas players.

Joburg Super Kings will be in the market for five players with a remaining purse of R 6.1 million. The Johannesburg outfit bolstered their squad with the pre-signing of Moeen Ali, David Wiese, Sam Cook and Zahir Khan.

Durban’s Super Giants have finalised the majority of their squad with 16 signings, and will have R 1.675 million to make up the three outstanding players.

MI Cape Town, who retained last season’s captain Rashid Khan and Sam Curran and also pre-signed English duo Liam Livingstone and Tom Banton, still have a remaining R 5.05 million in their purse. Jofra Archer retains his slot in the squad as the teams Wildcard player.

Paarl Royals boast R 8.865 million in their purse and could potentially add high-profile overseas-based players to their squad as they enter the auction looking to fill four slots. Their squad already boasts the England pair of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy along with West Indian bowler, Obed McCoy. Promising seventeen-year-old South Africa U19 left-arm quick, Kwena Maphaka, becomes the youngest player to be signed, with the Paarl outfit snapping up the talented bowler ahead of the auction.

The Wildcard option introduced in the inaugural season has proved to be a hit, with four teams incorporating their season one wildcard selections into their main season 2 squads. This means that four teams will acquire a new wildcard for Season two and have until December 30 to confirm the player.

In the squad of 19, all teams are required to include a minimum of 10 South African players, a maximum of seven international players and an additional new rookie player who must be South African.

The auction will take place on September 27 in Johannesburg. -Durban's Super Giants