Follow Us on Google News
JOHANNESBURG: Cricket South Africa (CSA), in association with SuperSport, has announced the launch of a new franchise-based T20 tournament.
The governing body said it signed an agreement alongside broadcaster SuperSport to “form a new company that will manage a dynamic new T20 competition”.
The first edition of the competition will be played in January 2023, immediately after South Africa’s tour to Australia. January will become the window for the league, which will comprise six privately-owned franchises playing each other in a double round before the top three sides move to the play-off stages.
According to the cricket board, the tournament will feature overseas players as well, with a player auction to take place at a later date. Each team will be allowed to have up to four overseas players in the XI.
This will be CSA’s third attempt at a glamorous T20 event – the earlier Mzansi Super League was last held in 2019 and the T20 Global League never got off the ground.
“We are excited by the formation of something this fresh and invigorating, which also offers the opportunity for private investment into the franchises,” CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki said. “CSA has already received interest from a number of potential local and international investors.”
Marc Jury, the CEO of SuperSport, said: “We are delighted to invest in a product that will change the face of South African cricket. There is an early-year gap in the calendar, so the timing is ideal.”
SuperSport’s support for the league is crucial to getting it going, as they are CSA’s domestic broadcast partner. Without their buy-in, CSA was unable to launch the Global T20 League in 2017 and was forced to shelve plans for a franchise T20 competition.
The competition is expected to inject more funds into cricket in South Africa, thereby helping the game grow in the country.
