SA20 has found its place in the global cricketing calendar: Graeme Smith

Smith noted that the six IPL-backed franchises - Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape - have brought professionalism to the league, helping it deliver the tournament efficiently.

Updated : Oct 09, 2026 10:48 IST , AHMEDABAD - 4 MINS READ

Graeme Smith has been the SA20 League Commissioner since its inaugural edition. | Photo Credit: PTI

SA20 has established itself in the cricket calendar, with the six Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises playing a big role in providing a base for the league, Graeme Smith said on Thursday.

Smith, SA20 League Commissioner, said after the Season 5 Auction that the tournament had found its place in the cricket calendar.

“I think, over the five seasons, we’ve established ourselves at the heart of summer. I think there’s a nice balance now, especially if you look at a year like this year, where you’ve got Australia, Bangladesh and England for international series around SA20, and our five weeks in the Jan-Feb window, where we’ve been consistently,” Smith said.

The six IPL-backed franchises - Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape - have brought professionalism to the league, helping it deliver the tournament efficiently, Smith said.

“I think the way they invest in players, the quality that they bring, the way they look after the players and the teams as well. And then we’ve been able to build a really high-performing operational team here at SA20,” he said.

Smith also highlighted investment in young talent through school programmes and scouting as one of SA20’s key takeaways over the past five seasons. The emphasis on youth was reflected when 18-year-old Jason Rowles became the most expensive signing at the recent auction, with Joburg Super Kings (JSK) acquiring him for USD 174,248.

“We were trying to grow the game of cricket. Those little stories really are nuggets in terms of helping build the future talent and keeping cricket as a high-profile sport in our country that people want to be a part of,” Smith said.

Rowles is among the young players to benefit from the U-23 programme, introduced last season. In Seasons Two and Three, SA20 followed a rookie draft system under which teams picked one U-22 player but had to replace him the following season.

Smith acknowledged that the league was not satisfied with the system and decided to move away from it. The U-23 programme allows franchises to invest in young talent and build their squads around them over multiple seasons.

“Moving to an under-23 programme means that they can identify young talent and choose to have them as a part of their squad for a number of years. I think our franchises are still investing in younger talent, but they can build with them over a number of years instead of forcing them to change every year,” he said.

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When SA20 was launched, Smith said, one of its primary objectives was to bring fans back to cricket in South Africa and attract new followers. 

“Just before SA20 started, South African cricket was in a challenging space. I think the national team was struggling. There were a lot of administration issues,” he said.

Smith believes the league has made progress towards those objectives in its first four seasons, but said the focus now was on sustaining that growth.

“Now it’s about doubling down and making sure it goes from strength to strength, so that in the next five years, people really still want to be a part of SA20 and see it grow from strength to strength,” he said.

Smith also expects further developments in franchise cricket over the next few years under the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) cycle. He believes four or five major leagues will feature on the calendar, with SA20 aiming to remain among the leading competitions alongside the IPL and The Hundred.

“I really like to believe that in the Southern Hemisphere, we’ve become the league of choice. So, I think that we certainly established ourselves coming into Season Five,” Smith said.