SA20 League Commissioner Graeme Smith is excited about the exceptional talent that will feature in Season 3 of South Africa’s T20 competition, beginning on January 9, 2025. With the franchises confirming their retained and pre-signed players, Smith highlighted his confidence in the strong squads assembled for the upcoming season and ahead of the player auction in Cape Town on October 1.”In the first two seasons, the world-class cricket in front of capacity crowds has positioned Betway SA20 as one of the Tier 1 franchise leagues on the global circuit.

“With international stars like Dinesh Karthik, Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Trent Boult, Johnny Bairstow, Devon Conway, Zak Crawley, Rashid Khan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz committing to their respective SA20 teams, the hard work that the league and franchises have put in to create a world-class experience has paid off and we thank everyone involved for their monumental efforts,” said Smith as per a media release by SA20.

“To have the calibre of international players joining local heroes like Aiden, KG and Heinrich sets up an explosive season. We are also incredibly proud of all the domestic players who have been retained by the teams, including the majority of the rookies who have been incorporated as fully contracted players for Season 3,” Smith added

Following the conclusion of the pre-signing and retention window there will be a total of 13 picks for the franchises to make at the Auction in Cape Town on October 1, 2024. In addition to this, each franchise will also need to select their Season 3 Rookie, while three of the franchises still have a wildcard to announce before December 30.

Season 3 of the Betway SA20 will take place from January 9 – February 8. 2025, with fixtures to be announced in due course.

Squads as they stand ahead of Season 3 Auction:

Durban’s Super Giants: Brandon King, Quinton De Kock, Naveen Ul Haq, Kane Williamson, Chris Woakes, Prenelan Subrayen, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Noor Ahmed, Heinrich Klaasen, Jon-Jon Smuts, Wiaan Mulder, Junior Dala, Bryce Parsons, Matthew Breetzke, Jason Smith, Marcus Stoinis.

Joburg Super Kings: Faf Du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Maheesh Theekshana, Devon Conway, Gerald Coetzee, David Wiese, Leus Du Plooy, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Donavon Ferreira, Imran Tahir, Sibonelo Makhanya, Tabraiz Shamsi.

MI Cape Town: Rashid Khan, Ben Stokes, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Azmatullah Omarzai, Dewald Brevis, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Nuwan Thushara, Connor Esterhuizen, Delano Potgieter, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Thomas Kaber, Chris Benjamin.

Pretoria Capitals: Anrich Nortje, Jimmy Neesham, Will Jacks, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Will Smeed, Migael Pretorius, Rilee Rossouw, Eathan Bosch, Wayne Parnell, Senuran Muthusamy, Kyle Verreynne, Daryn Dupavillon, Steve Stolk, Tiaan van Vuuren.

Paarl Royals: David Miller, Mujeeb Ur-Rahman, Sam Hain, Joe Root, Dinesh Karthik, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Van Buuren, Keith Dudgeon, Nqaba Peter, Andile Phehlukwayo, Codi Yusuf, John Turner, Dayyaan Galiem, Jacob Bethell.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Aiden Markram, Zak Crawley, Roelof van der Merwe, Liam Dawson, Ottneil Baartman, Marco Jansen, Beyers Swanepoel, Caleb Seleka, Tristan Stubbs, Jordan Hermann, Patrick Kruger, Craig Overton, Tom Abell, Simon Harmer, Andile Simelane, David Bedingham.

Dinesh Karthik, during a practice session in Bengaluru. File photo
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Former wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik was on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, signed by Paarl Royals for the third season of the SA20, making him the first Indian cricketer to participate in the South African league, starting on January 9.

Karthik, 39, retired from all forms of cricket in June this year and since then he has been roped in as a mentor-cum-batting coach by IPL side Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

“I have so many fond memories of playing in and visiting South Africa, and when this opportunity came about, I couldn’t say no because of how special it would be to come back to playing competitive cricket and win this incredible competition with the Royals,” said Karthik, who has played 180 matches for India across all three formats.

His last competitive T20 outing was for RCB in the IPL 2024, for whom he made 326 runs in 14 matches at a strike-rate of 187.36.

Karthik’s last match in India colours was against Bangladesh during the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.

“I am delighted to be joining the Paarl Royals team which oozes a lot of experience, quality and potential. I am certainly looking forward to joining the group and contributing to what should be an exciting season,” Karthik, who was roped in as the league ambassador a day earlier, said.

Royals’ Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara hoped to tap in the extensive T20 experience of Karthik.

“Dinesh has served as one of the modern-day greats for India in white-ball cricket, and his wealth of experience will contribute to the making of our side.

“He has always proved to be a great asset for the teams he’s represented across leagues for the way he approaches the game and the impact he can make,” said Sangakkara.

At the Royals, Karthik will join other international stars like skipper David Miller, Joe Root, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo and Kwena Maphaka.