The new franchise-based T20 league CSA T20 league has been named as "SA20". In a press conference on Wednesday, Graeme Smith revealed the new name of the T20 league in addition to confirming that the player auction for the league's debut season will take place on September 19.
Three clubs have announced five purchases each from a pool as part of the direct-acquisition process, and all six participating teams, which are owned by IPL franchises, have already made some notable deals. Since being named the commissioner of the impending league in July of this year, Graeme Smith has commented on South Africa's attempt to establish a competitive Twenty20 competition following a few prior failures.
"Today is another significant day as we officially unveil the SA20. We selected a name for its simplicity and something that can be uniquely ours as we enter this new and exciting phase of cricket in South Africa. We hope it’s something people will enjoy and want to be a part of because it’s been a joy for us to create it," Smith said in the press conference.
The SA20 has attracted some of T20 cricket's biggest names like England's Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali apart from West Indies' Jason Holder and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan apart from the world-class contracted Proteas players.
"The countdown to January 2023 gets more thrilling with each major milestone that we cross and today is another step towards that first ball being bowled. We hope fans will be able to relate to our brand as we work towards making the SA20 a world-class tournament South Africans can be proud of," added Smith.
All the six teams, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Pretoria Capitals, Paarl Royals, MI Cape Town, Johannesburg Super Kings and Durban franchise, owned by IPL franchises, have already signed up to five players apiece (four by Paarl, two each by Pretoria and Eastern Cape) through a direct-acquisition process.
The CSK-owned Johannesburg Super Kings have announced Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana, Romario Shepherd, and Gerald Coetzee in their line-up.
RPSG Durban, owned by the RPSG group, have picked up Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder, Kyle Mayers, Reece Topley, and Prenelan Subrayen.
While MI Cape Town, owned by Reliance Industries, have Rashid Khan, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, and Dewald Brevis.
Paarl Royals, the sister franchise of Rajasthan Royals have signed four players: Jos Buttler, David Miller, Obed McCoy, and Corbin Bosch. And Pretoria Capitals - Anrich Nortje and Migael Pretorius - and Sunrisers Eastern Cape - Aiden Markram and Ottniel Baartman - have two players each.
The SA20 will directly clash with the UAE's ILT20, which is also set to begin in January of the following year. When Bangladesh's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) are on, both leagues will be in play.