Johannesburg [South Africa], July 23 : The SA20 season four auction is set to be a blockbuster event after the six franchises laid down an early squad marker with the announcement of the pre-signed and retained players for Season 4.
Each of the teams was permitted a maximum of 6 retained or pre-signed players, comprising of a maximum of 3 South African and 3 overseas players during the player retention window, which closed on 18 July, as per an SA20 press release.
The teams also strategically completed their 6 wildcard signings, with all the focus now on the remaining slots and the collective maximum purse of USD 7.4 million, to be spent on the 84 available slots at the auction on 9 September in Johannesburg. For Season 4, a Wildcard player could be any overseas player or a South African player who was part of the team's squad in Season 3.
A complete list of players and remaining salary cap follows: (Players with * mark are overseas players).
Durban's Super Giants (USD 1.6 million)
*Sunil Narine, *Noor Ahmad, *Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen (wildcard)
Joburg Super Kings (USD 1.2 million)
Faf Du Plessis, *James Vince, *Akeal Hosein, *Richard Gleeson, Donovan Ferreira (wildcard)
MI Cape Town (USD 654K)
Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, *Rashid Khan, *Trent Boult, *Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada (wildcard)
Paarl Royals (USD 825K)
Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin, *Mujeeb Ur Rahman, *Sikandar Raza, Rubin Hermann (Wildcard)
Pretoria Capitals (USD 1.8 million)
*Will Jacks, *Sherfane Rutherford, *Andre Russell (Wildcard)
Sunrisers Eastern Cape (USD 1.2 million)
Tristan Stubbs, *Allah Ghazanfar, *Adam Milne, *Jonny Bairstow, Marco Jansen (Wildcard)
Notable South African players available to be picked up at the auction include Proteas World Test Championship final heroes Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder and Keshav Maharaj, along with top young talent Dewald Brevis and Kwena Maphaka. T20 specialists Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi are also available.
SA20 League Commissioner, Graeme Smith said: "When the League first drafted its regulations in Season 1, we always saw this forthcoming season as an opportunity for a strategic reset and this is exactly where we envisioned being. There's now a strong balance between pre-signed and retained international and Proteas players, alongside a significant purse available for the auction," he said.
"After three seasons, the franchises have developed a good understanding of the South African cricket ecosystem and adopted a distinct strategy which sets the stage for the most exciting auction yet," he added.
-Durban's Super Giants have focused their energies on securing a high-quality overseas trio in West Indies T20I legend Sunil Narine, along with England's Jos Buttler and Afghanistan's Noor Ahmad, while holding on to megastar Heinrich Klaasen as a Wildcard. The KZN outfit will enter the auction with the second-highest available purse of USD 1.7 million to purchase the 15 remaining players.
-Joburg Super Kings have retained the experience of captain Faf du Plessis and brought in English duo James Vince and Richard Gleeson, and will have the joint third biggest purse of USD 1.2 million to spend at the auction.
-Defending champions MI Cape Town have opted for the full six-player allowance and Wildcard in a bid to consolidate the core of their Season 3 championship-winning squad, whilst bolstering the squad with the addition of West Indies superstar Nicholas Pooran.
-With five players and a Wildcard locked in, Paarl Royals have maintained their strategic youth investment policy with the retention of teenager and Season 3's Batter of the Season, Lhuan-dre Pretorius. The Royals have also pre-signed Zimbabwe T20I captain Sikandar Raza - the first player from South Africa's northern neighbours set to participate in SA20.
-Pretoria Capitals have opted to do the majority of their business at the auction, securing two players and a Wildcard in Windies T20 World Cup winner Andre Russell. The Capitals will head into the auction with the highest purse of USD 1.8 million available, with a total of 16 players required to complete their squad.
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