Photo Credit: SA20 League
Teams to have increased salary purse and a rookie player in each squad
The new player regulations for Season 2 of Betway SA20 will give teams the opportunity to assemble powerhouse squads to build on the cricketing success of the inaugural edition held in January this year. The salary cap has been increased by R5.1 million to R39.1 million from the first year, allowing teams to attract the best talent and a license to assemble competitive squads.
The official trading window for South African players opened on 1 June, giving teams an opportunity to pre-sign, trade, buy-out or retain players ahead of the auction.
In a new introduction, teams will be required to sign a rookie player; a South African player 22 years of age or younger who has not featured in the SA20 before.
Squad sizes will increase to 19 with the inclusion of the rookie player and the wild card player. Teams are required to have a minimum of 11 South African players in their squads. For the match day playing XI, teams can field a maximum of 4 overseas players and a minimum of 7 South Africans.
Betway SA20 League Commissioner, Graeme Smith, says the new regulations will ensure the second season of the League continues to produce a high standard of cricket associated with South Africa’s premier T20 League.
“We have put these new regulations in place to build on the successful first season of Betway SA20, which was underpinned by entertaining and quality cricket from some of the best players in the world. The teams have an opportunity to assemble the best of South African and international talent, which will no doubt produce competitive and a high standard of cricket for the fans in the second season.
“The addition of a rookie player to the squads shows our continued commitment and investment to giving young talent exposure on a global platform. We saw some special performances from the young players in our first season. SA20 remains aspirational for up and coming cricketers and this is another opportunity for them to showcase their skills.”
Sunrisers Eastern Cape were crowned the inaugural champions at a sold out Wanderers Stadium to close off a successful first season, which saw record crowds and a renewed interest in domestic cricket in South Africa.
The second season will take place in the same January window, with further details on the auction and the fixtures to be released soon.
Betway SA20 Season 2 Player Regulations
- Salary cap increase per team by R 5.1 M to now stand at R 39.1 M.
- Introduction of a rookie player per team. This is for South African players, 22 years of age or younger who have not featured in SA20 before.
- Player trading mechanism open for South African players so that teams can alter squads and make tactical trades to compile part of their squad before auction.
- Increase (by 1) of each team to pre sign overseas players – this means that players who may have been unavailable previously can be contracted even before the auction.
- Wildcard still available to teams.
- Squad sizes have increased to 19 including a rookie and wildcard.
- Minimum of 11 SA players per squad.
Name of Author: SA20 League
SA20, officially known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa organized by Cricket South Africa (CSA). First held in the 2023 season, the league features six city-based teams. Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the first two editions of the tournament.
