South Africa's franchise tournament SA20 to kick off on January 10th

Amongst the burgeoning popularity of the franchise cricket leagues, the latest addition to this already decorated catalogue would be that of Cricket South Africa’s SA20 which is all set to begin on January 10th.

The league will be featuring six teams, namely MI Cape Town, Durban Super Giants, Johannesburg Super Kings, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

The squad strength for each team has been fixed at a higher cap of 17 players with 7 internationals allowed to be a part of each squad. The auction that was conducted on September 19th, witnessed Tristan Stubbs being the most expensive player of the league as he was bought for almost $520,000 by the Sunrisers.

Johannesburg Super Kings will be captained by RCB skipper, Faf du Plessis, the man who showcased his exemplary leadership flair in franchise cricket, propelling the Challengers to the playoffs in his very season with the team.

Former South African all-rounder, Albie Morkel was hopeful of the first edition of this league being a grand success. “The player auction was a huge success for us as Jo'burg Super Kings and for the league itself. There were a lot of quality local and international cricketers picked up and that will certainly produce competitive cricket from the teams …We have already started doing work behind the scenes and can't wait for the action to start come January 10th,” he said.

Erstwhile South African spinner, Robin Peterson also chimed in with his opinion, saying, “The SA20 is going to have a massive impact on South African cricket. It is going to revolutionise the game in our country and if used correctly and to its full potential, it will be an exciting competition. Being on the ground working at domestic level, there is a certain level of excitement from cricketers that there is a league within our own country. There's knowing that if they showcase their skills, who knows where it may lead to, be it playing for the Proteas or getting deals around the world."

The SA20 will have 33 matches with all the teams duking it out against each other twice with the top four qualifying for the semis, followed by the grand finale pitting two best teams of the tournament.