SA20 player auction: where to watch, timings, teams, players up for grabs, total purse, the IPL connection

Six franchises owned by Indian Premier League team owners will compete in the inaugural CSA T20 League in January-February 2023 in South Africa.

The SA20 auction will be streamed live on the SA20 YouTube channel. The SA20 will be played in South Africa in January 2023.

The South Africa T20 League, formed by Cricket South Africa (CSA), is a six-team tournament that is scheduled to be played in 2023.

SA20 Auction Live Streaming Info Latest Updates: Player auction to begin at 5:30 PM IST

A host of international and local T20 stars will be in action as South Africa bids to launch its own global T20 league. Cricket South Africa president and former captain Graeme Smith has been named as the League Commissioner.

Ahead of the SA20 auction, here is everything you need to know about the South Africa T20 League:

What is the schedule of the SA20 League?

The tournament will comprise 33 matches. All teams will play each other twice - on a home-and-away basis - with two semifinals and the final to follow. The day-to-day schedule has not been announced yet.

What will the makeup of the teams and how much purse do all teams have?

Franchises can sign seven overseas players and 10 South Africans in a squad of 17. There can be only four foreign players in the Playing XI. There will be 533 players going under the hammer, of which 248 are South Africans.

West Indies international Jayden Seales and Odean Smith are a part of the player pool with the highest base price of Rand 1,750,000 (US$100,000 approx.). The next category, with a base price of Rand 1,700,000 ($97,000 approx.), includes star T20 players like Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy, Tymal Mills and David Willey, among others. Fifty-two players form the pool with the lowest base price of Rand 850,000 ($48,000 approx.), including star Proteas players like Dean Elgar, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi.

The franchises have an overall purse of US$2 million.

When and where is the SA20 auction taking place?

The Auction takes place on September 19 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa.

What time will SA20 auction start?

The auction starts at 2 PM Local Time, 5:30 PM IST.

Telecast and live streaming details

The SA20 auction will be streamed live on the SA20 YouTube channel. The SA20 will be played in South Africa in January 2023. You can also watch the auction on Sports18-1 SD & HD.

Which are the six teams and who are the owners of the South Africa T20 League franchises?

The six teams in the inaugural South Africa T20 League are owned by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners.

• Team: MI Cape Town; City - Cape Town, Western Cape; Stadium - Newlands Cricket Ground; Owner: Reliance Industries Limited (IPL - Mumbai Indians)
• Team: Johannesburg Super Kings; City - Johannesburg, Gauteng; Stadium - Wanderers Stadium; Owner: Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (IPL - Chennai Super Kings)
• Team: Paarl Royals; City - Parl, Western Cape; Stadium - Boland Park; Owner: Royals Sports Group (IPL - Rajasthan Royals)
• Team: Pretoria Capitals; City - Pretoria, Gauteng; Stadium - Centurion Park; Owner: JSW Sports (IPL - Delhi Capitals)
• Team: Sunrisers Eastern Cape; City - Gqeberha, Eastern Cape; Stadium - St. George’s Park Cricket Ground; Owner: Sun TV Network Limited (IPL - Sunrisers Hyderabad)
• Team:team name to be announced*; City - Durban, Kwazulu-Natal; Stadium - Kingsmead Cricket Ground; Owner: RPSG Sports Private Limited (IPL - Lucknow Super Giants)

What is the player signing (auction/draft) system of the CSA T20 League 2023?

While the CSA T20 League is expected to clash with another marquee T20 league in the UAE in January-February 2023, the CSA has already received the backing of several international T20 stars.

As per a Cricket South Africa statement on August 11, 2022: “Over 30 marquee international players have already been signed by the League, with the numbers set to increase as players enter the auction taking place in the next few weeks. This is in addition to all contracted Proteas and domestic players who have committed to the League.”

The squad and player signing system is as follows:

• All six franchises can sign upto a maximum of 17 players in the squad.
• The teams can sign a maximum of five players - three international, one South African national and one uncapped local player - ahead of the extensive player signing process.
• There will be an auction system in place for CSA T20 League instead of a draft. This will make the CSA T20 League only the second major T20 franchise tournament after the IPL to hold an auction system for player signings.

Which players have been bought as pre-auction signings in CSA T20 League?

• MI Cape Town - Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Dewald Brevis
• Paarl Royals - Jos Buttler, David Miller, Obed McCoy, Corbin Bosch
• RPSG Durban franchise - Jason Holder, Quinton de Kock, Reece Topley, Kyle Mayers, Prenelan Subrayan
• Pretoria Capitals - Anrich Nortje, Migael Pretorius
• Johannesburg Super Kings - Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana, Gerald Coetzee, Romario Shepherd
• Sunrisers Eastern Cape - Aiden Markram, Ottneil Baartman

When will the CSA T20 League 2023 start?

While a formal announcement on the dates is expected soon, League commissioner Smith has confirmed that a January-February 2023 window has been marked for the launch.