SA20

Which team will win the 2026 SA20?

  • Durban's Super Giants

    Votes: 5 20.8%

  • Joburg Super Kings

    Votes: 4 16.7%

  • MI Cape Town

    Votes: 2 8.3%

  • Paarl Royals

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Pretoria Capitals

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Sunrisers Eastern Cape

    Votes: 7 29.2%
  • Total voters
    24
  • Poll closed .

At least 72 player slots up for grabs in anticipated Betway SA20 Auction ​

June 24, 2025

Auction date set for 9 September in Johannesburg

Highest ever salary cap for Franchises to assemble Season 4 Squads

Right to Match Card introduced for the first time

All the big names and rising stars set to headline Season 4 of Betway SA20 will be confirmed at the fourth annual player auction taking place in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 9 September.

This year’s event promises to bring some changes amongst the squads, and high-stakes bidding with a minimum of 72 player slots available for auction.

The squad composition of the teams remains the same, with the League continuing to prioritise opportunity for local talent on a global platform. Of the 18 players in the regular squad, teams can secure a maximum of 7 overseas players, a minimum of 11 South African players.

Season 4 will again see teams being able to sign one Wildcard player to each squad. The Wildcard player can be a South African or overseas player, and their League fee falls outside of the salary cap.

Prior to the auction, the franchises are permitted no more than 6 retentions or pre-signed players comprising of a maximum of 3 overseas players and 3 South African players.

This year features the largest salary cap in the history of the competition, a sizeable R41 million in the purse for each of the six franchises to make up their squads. The salary cap has steadily increased over the years from the R34 million in season 1, making it the highest franchise T20 League salary cap outside of India.

In a Betway SA20 first, a significant strategic innovation has been added to the Season 4 auction with the introduction of the Right to Match (RTM) Cards.

A Right to Match Card allows a Franchise the opportunity to match a winning auction bid on a player who played for that team in Season 3 and retain his services for Season 4.

Each team will have a limited number of RTM cards to use, depending on the number of South African pre-auction player retentions they use.

The League’s commitment to the development of young talent in South Africa remains steadfast. There will no longer be a Rookie Draft, instead, teams must sign a minimum of two U23 players in their final 19 player squads.

The ever-popular Richard Madley, who has fast become synonymous with the Betway SA20 auction, will once again wield his gavel to control proceedings. The auction will be broadcast live on SuperSport and the SA20 YouTube Channel with rolling coverage across all the League’s social media platforms.

The auction marks the first major milestone ahead of the anticipated fourth season, which, this year, will be played in a ‘festive season’ slot starting on 26 December 2025.
 

Betway SA20 to bring festive cheer as Season 4 Fixtures are announced ​

Defending Champions MI Cape Town open title defence against Durban’s Super Giants on 26 December at Newlands


Betway SA20 is set to bring the festive cheer to cricket fans around the country and on screens globally with a jam-packed schedule of Season 4 fixtures announced today.

South Africa’s premier franchise T20 competition will celebrate the holiday season with a bumper opening match on Boxing Day, with defending champions MI Cape Town hosting Durban’s Super Giants at Newlands on Friday, 26 December 2025.

Saturday, 27 December marks the first double-header of Season 4, with Centurion hosting the Jukskei derby between Pretoria Capitals and Joburg Super Kings while Paarl Royals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape clash at Boland Park in Paarl.

Kingsmead, home of Durban’s Super Giants, will be a hive of activity in the week leading up to the New Year with the east coast venue welcoming both MI Cape Town (28 December) and Joburg Super Kings (30 December) within the space of a couple of days.

Fans at the coast will have the opportunity to ring in the New Year in style with another cracking double-header set for Gqeberha and Cape Town on 31 December 2025.

Two-times champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape will welcome the Paarl Royals at an always jovial St George’s Park in the afternoon (13h00), with the excitement building up for MI Cape Town and Pretoria Capitals at Newlands later in the day (17h30).

The festivities will continue on New Year’s Day when Joburg Super Kings and Durban’s Super Giants look to start 2026 on a high note at the Wanderers.


“Season 4 of Betway SA20 will be unique,” League Commissioner, Graeme Smith said. “We've carefully planned the fixtures to make the most of the festive season and school holidays, we want SA20 to be a part of the holiday season festivities in our once-off window for this year.

“With the early part of the fixtures weighted towards our coastal venues, holidaymakers from around the country will have a fantastic entertainment option fit for the entire family. We're also excited to host New Year's Eve and New Year's Day fixtures for the first time; we can’t wait to be a part of the New Year’s celebrations with the fans.”

The “Tweede Nuwe Jaar” will be celebrated in style at Boland Park with a mouthwatering Cape derby between Paarl Royals and neighbours MI Cape Town on 2 January 2026.

Paarl Royals will be looking to continue their impressive record at home, after winning all five of their home matches last season. Incredibly, MI Cape Town achieved the same feat at Newlands in the same season.

The Betway SA20 carnival moves up north to the Highveld for a “Super Saturday” double bout on 3 January when Joburg Super Kings and Sunrisers Eastern Cape trade punches at the Wanderers before Pretoria Capitals and Durban’s Super Giants go head-to-head at Centurion.

“Announcing the fixtures is always a major milestone for us and signals that we are well on our way to another incredible season,” Smith added. “The franchises are hard at work behind the scenes strategising around their squads which will be confirmed at the auction on 9 September. It’s all systems go to welcome the best international and local players to our stage.”

The Final of the competition will take place on 25 January, with Qualifier 1 scheduled for 21 January, the Eliminator on 22 January and Qualifier 2 on 23 January. Venues for the Final and the Playoffs will be confirmed on a later date.

Fans have an opportunity to register for the Season 4 pre-sale window to access the best seats at the best prices before tickets go on sale to the general public. Tickets to all Group Stage matches as well as the Playoffs and Final will be available during the pre-sale window, which will open on 17 September and close on 9 October. Register to take part in the pre-sale before midnight (SAST) on Monday, 15 September: https://www.sa20.co.za/season-4-early-access
Click to expand...

Full Fixtures 16x9.jpg

betway-sa20-newsroom.prezly.com

Betway SA20 to bring festive cheer as Season 4 Fixtures are announced

Defending Champions MI Cape Town open title defence against Durban’s Super Giants on 26 December at Newlands
betway-sa20-newsroom.prezly.com
 
stefan9 said:
Really shocked but neither markram or brevis were retained. Expect big bids for them.
Click to expand...

Not sure about Brevis but...
ESPNcricinfo has learned that Markram, under whose captaincy Sunrisers won two successive titles in 2023 and 2024, and was the third-highest run-getter in the 2025 season where his team finished as runner-up, told the franchise he wanted to head to the auction which will be held on September 9.

Sunrisers, though, will have the option to use the right-to-match-card in case they want to buy Markram back.
Click to expand...

Think he just wants a raise.
 

Betway SA20 announces pre-signed and retained players ahead of Season 4 Auction ​

A maximum of R131 million to be spent on 84 available slots at bumper auction
Wednesday, 23 July 2025: The Betway SA20 Season 4 Auction is set to be a blockbuster event after the six franchises laid down an early squad marker with the announcement of the pre-signed and retained players for Season 4.

Each of the teams were permitted a maximum of 6 retained or pre-signed players, comprising of a maximum of 3 South African and 3 overseas players during the player retention window, which closed on 18 July.

The teams also strategically completed their 6 Wildcard signings, with all the focus now on the remaining slots and the collective maximum purse of R131 million, to be spent on the 84 available slots at the auction on 9 September in Johannesburg. For Season 4, a Wildcard player could be any overseas player or a South African player who was part of the team’s squad in Season 3.

A complete list of players and remaining salary cap follows: 

Durban’s Super Giants (R29,5 million)
*Sunil Narine, *Noor Ahmad, *Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen (Wildcard)

Joburg Super Kings (R21,5 million)
Faf Du Plessis, *James Vince, *Akeal Hosein, *Richard Gleeson, Donovan Ferreira (Wildcard)

MI Cape Town (R11,5 million)
Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, *Rashid Khan, *Trent Boult, *Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada (Wildcard)

Paarl Royals (R14,5 million)
Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin, *Mujeeb Ur Rahman, *Sikandar Raza, Rubin Hermann (Wildcard)

Pretoria Capitals (R32,5 million)
*Will Jacks, *Sherfane Rutherford, *Andre Russell (Wildcard)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape (R21,5 million)
Tristan Stubbs, *Allah Ghazanfar, *Adam Milne, *Jonny Bairstow, Marco Jansen (Wildcard)

*Indicates overseas players

Notable South African players available to be picked up at the auction include Proteas World Test Championship final heroes Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder and Keshav Maharaj, along with top young talent Dewald Brevis and Kwena Maphaka. T20 specialists Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi are also available.

Betway SA20 League Commissioner, Graeme Smith said: “When the League first drafted its regulations in Season 1, we always saw this forthcoming season as an opportunity for a strategic reset — and this is exactly where we envisioned being. There’s now a strong balance between pre-signed and retained international and Proteas players, alongside a significant purse available for the auction,” he said.

“After three seasons, the franchises have developed a good understanding of the South Africa cricket ecosystem and adopted a distinct strategy which sets the stage for the most exciting auction yet.”

  • Durban’s Super Giants have focused their energies on securing a high-quality overseas trio in West Indies T20I legend Sunil Narine, along with England’s Jos Buttler and Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad, while holding on to megastar Heinrich Klaasen as a Wildcard. The KZN outfit will enter the auction with the second-highest available purse of R29,5 million to purchase the 15 remaining players.
  • Joburg Super Kings have retained the experience of captain Faf du Plessis and brought in English duo James Vince and Richard Gleeson and will have the joint third biggest purse of R21,5 million to spend at the auction.
  • Defending champions MI Cape Town have opted for the full six-player allowance and Wildcard in a bid to consolidate the core of their Season 3 championship-winning squad, whilst bolstering the squad with the addition of West Indies superstar Nicholas Pooran.
  • With five players and a Wildcard locked in, Paarl Royals have maintained their strategic youth investment policy with the retention of teenager and Season 3’s Batter of the Season, Lhuan-dre Pretorius. The Royals have also pre-signed Zimbabwe T20I captain Sikandar Raza - the first player from South Africa’s northern neighbours set to participate in Betway SA20.
  • Pretoria Capitals have opted to do the majority of their business at the auction securing two players and a Wildcard in Windies T20 World Cup winner Andre Russell. The Capitals will head into the auction with the highest purse of R32,5 million available with a total of 16 players required to complete their squad.
  • Two-times champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape will unleash the exciting talents of Afghanistan’s 18-year-old mystery spinner Allah Ghazanfar alongside stalwarts Tristan Stubbs and Season 3 MVP Marco Jansen.
The Season 4 Auction will be live on SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa and JioHotstar in India with rolling coverage of all the action across all Betway SA20 social media platforms.
 
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