A list of 36 players for the CSA T20 league, including top T20 stalwarts like Faf du Plessis, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, was released on Wednesday, August 10.
The sense of excitement for Cricket South Africa’s new T20 league, set to host its first edition in January-February next year, has grown with a list of star-studded marquee players released on Wednesday.
England lead the way in terms of representations for these direct overseas signings, with as many as 11 players, which is four more than the host country’s seven for now. Jos Buttler, the current England white-ball captain and all-rounder Liam Livingstone are expected to be signed for $500,000 each as per an ESPNcricinfo report, while Moeen Ali is likely to earn $400,000.
Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram, Anrich Nortje and Rilee Rossow are the seven home players in the 36-member strong list.
Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy, Sam Curran, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Niroshan Dickwella, Dushmantha Chameera, Jimmy Neesham are the other notable members.
“This is an important milestone for the League. Having world-class South African players playing with some of the best cricketers around the world makes for some outstanding cricket.
I’m mostly excited for the young and upcoming talent in our cricket pipeline. They will get to rub shoulders with some experienced and talented players which will no doubt inspire and help them to raise their own game,”
league commissioner Graeme Smith said.
Players will receive salaries ranging from $30,000 to a whopping $500,000. The league is competing closely with the UAE based ILT20 league, which is also set to host its first edition early next year, while offering up to $ 450,000 to top players.
Notably, no Pakistan players feature in this list, with a possible reason being that the six franchises in the CSA T20 league are owned by IPL owners, with Pakistan players being banned in the India based T20 carnival. However, a league official reportedly stated that Pakistan’s international calendar and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) schedule, contributed to the non-signings.
Each of the six teams in the CSA T20 League will have 17-member squads, with five players being pre-signed. This exclusive list will have two South African players, one international and the other uncapped, and three being overseas, each from a different country.
An auction for the remaining spots to build up the squads is likely to take place in a few weeks time. The league will likely allow four overseas players in the XI, much like the IPL.
With the teams being owned by the IPL-based franchises, it is likely that the IPL players represent the corresponding teams in the league. For instance, Buttler is believed to have signed with the Paarl franchise owned by Rajasthan Royals.
Other than with the ILT20, the CSA T20 league would also clash with the Big Bash League in Australia and the Bangladesh Premier League, which would increase the demand of seasoned internationals and T20 specialists in early 2023.
Here is the complete list of marquee’ players signed for the competition:
South Africa
Faf du Plessis, Rilee Roussow, Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Aiden Markram, Anrich Nortje
West Indies
Obed McCoy, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Romario Shepherd, Jaydon Seales, Jason Holder
England
Eoin Morgan, Will Jacks, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Tymal Mills, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, Phil Salt, Moeen Ali
New Zealand
Jimmy Neesham
Sri Lanka
Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Niroshan Dickwella, Seekkuge Prasanna, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamika Karunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep, Akila Dhananjaya, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Vishwa Fernando
Ireland
Harry Tector
