SA20 2027: Full squads finalised after Sandton auction
On Wednesday, the auction for the fifth edition of the South Africa T20 League (SA20 2027) took place at the Galleria in Sandton, Johannesburg, concluding with all six franchises confirming their squads for the tournament.
A total of 789 players registered for the auction and 156 were shortlisted to go under the hammer; Durban’s Super Giants and Paarl Royals had already finalised 19-member squads before the auction, while Joburg Super Kings (JSK), MI Cape Town (MICT), Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) and Pretoria Capitals (PC) entered the event with open slots. JSK began the auction with the largest purse at R20.6M, followed by MICT on R9.35M, SEC on R3.6M and PC on R1.475M, and the four franchises subsequently filled all available roster places.
Joburg Super Kings used their larger purse to secure several headline signings, including 18-year-old uncapped South African all-rounder Jason Rowles for R2.9 million; Rowles will make his debut in the upcoming season. JSK also rebought Faf du Plessis for R2.7 million, the second-highest individual price at the auction, while MI Cape Town paid R2.6 million for all-rounder Wiaan Mulder.
JSK’s auction business included the acquisition of Kieron Pollard; Pollard, who "has been with the MI family across IPL, SA20, ILT20, and MLC, will now play against them for the Super Kings," the report said. The auction outcomes reshaped the squads for the franchises that entered with remaining vacancies.
The published squad lists from the auction and pre-auction confirmations include: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Corbin Bosch, Wiaan Mulder, Thomas Kaber, George Linde, Dane Piedt, Jason Smith, Tiaan van Vuuren, Lehan Botha, Daniel Smith. Aiden Markram, Gerald Coetzee, Marques Ackerman. David Bedingham, Eathan Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Daryn Dupavillon, Evan Jones, Kyle Simmonds. David Miller, Rubin Hermann, Ottneil Baartman, Bjorn Fortuin, Keagan Lion-Cachet, Nqobani Mokoena, Kyle Verreynne, Hardus Viljoen, Delano Potgieter. Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Temba Bavuma. Connor Esterhuizen, Wihan Lubbe, Rassie van der Dussen, Bryce Parsons, Lizaad Williams, Codi Yusuf, Gideon Peters, Josh Breed. Tristan Stubbs, Quinton de Kock, Matthew Breetzke, Jordan Hermann, Anrich Nortje, Senuran Muthusamy, Lutho Sipamla, Patrick Kruger, Nandre Burger, Mitchell van Buuren. Faf du Plessis, Matthew de Villiers, Rilee Rossouw, Donovan Ferreira, Leus du Plooy, Dian Forrester, Duan Jansen, Janco Smit, Dayyaan Galiem, Prenelan Subrayen.
The fifth edition of the SA20 will begin on January 17 with Sunrisers Eastern Cape facing Pretoria Capitals at St. George’s Park, and the tournament will conclude with a final scheduled for February 21 in Cape Town.