Johannesburg - The countdown has begun to Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) newest tournament, the country's T20 League. On September 19, the country witnessed an IPL-style auction featuring players from across the active styles (test and T20) who signed up to be bought by the six franchise teams created for the league.

The six teams in the inaugural league are owned by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners and will play 33 matches in total. Each squad consists of 17 players, with a maximum of seven internationals.

The announced teams are MI Cape Town (owned by Mumbai Indians), Johannesburg Super Kings (Chennai Super Kings), Paarl Royals (Rajasthan Royals), Pretoria Capitals (Delhi Capitals), Sunrisers Eastern Cape (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and Durban Super Giants (Lucknow Super Giants).

Chennai Super Kings players celebrate after winning the final of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket match at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Picture: AP

The inaugural tournament is the brainchild of the CSA, who have placed all their bets on it in the build-up to the auction. As a country with a formidable cricket presence, T20 league Commissioner Graeme Smith said that it was only a matter of time before SA had their local league that appeals to national and international players.

He was so fervent in his belief that Smith told eNCA that while he and the board were hoping for large bids from South Africa, the eager participation by the IPL franchise owners still spoke to the anticipated excitement over the league.

He hoped the inaugural tournament would lead to more South Africans making future investments. In the planning and discussions going into the domestic T20 league, the CSA’s sacrifice of the traditional January test series against Australia showed how much the board was prioritising the sport’s financial outcomes and investments.

The SA T20 league will join the Indian Premier League (IPL), Australia’s T20 Big Bash, the upcoming United Arab Emirates T20 league and England’s Hundreds league on a cricket calendar that has experienced a loss of international matches in favour of big-bucks-attracting tournaments like the IPL.

Their sacrifice may pay off come January 2023, when looking at which players the six franchises splurged on: 22-year-old rising star Tristan Stubbs was bagged by Sunrisers Eastern Cape, pocketing a whopping R9.2 million. Batsman Rilee Rossouw (Pretoria Capitals) and all-rounder Marco Jansen were the 2nd and 3rd most expensive buys at R6,814,416 and R6,012,720, respectively.

Rilee Rossouw. Picture: by Dave Vokes/Shutterstock/BackpagePix

The new league will undoubtedly bring the success and international foothold that CSA has aimed for. CSA’s director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe, believes the economic windfalls will trickle down and reach those in need at the grassroots.

“If there are opportunities to strengthen the top, there are areas we could look at. But, first and foremost, the biggest investment is going to be in our development because we know the calibre of cricketers our system produces for the Proteas.”

A likely casualty with the appearance of another domestic league is the 50-over bilateral format. New cricket fans have been favourable towards the T20 format, while the traditional test cricket and 50-over match formats are still favourable among purists.

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