Du Plessis, van der Dussen headline 156-player shortlist as SA20 auction purse, slots confirmed
SA20 Season 5 auction set for October 7 with 789 registrations trimmed to 156
Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, Wiaan Mulder and Nandre Burger headline the list of 156 players shortlisted for the SA20 Season 5 auction, which will take place on October 7.
A total of 789 players had registered for the auction, with the list subsequently trimmed to 95 South Africans and 61 overseas players. However, only 19 slots remain to be filled across the four teams taking part in the auction, with Durban's Super Giants and Paarl Royals having already completed their 19-player squads.
Du Plessis among the most prominent names in the pool
Du Plessis, who previously captained Joburg Super Kings, is among the most prominent South African names in the auction pool. The 42-year-old has continued to feature prominently in franchise cricket and recently finished as the leading run-scorer in the just-concluded ETPL season. He played only five games (scoring 135 runs at a strike rate of 151.7) in the last season of SA20 before a thumb injury ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament.
Van der Dussen, Mulder and Burger are among the other established South Africans available.
Under-23 slots draw interest as overseas stars line up
The two Under-23 slots are also expected to draw interest, with fast bowler Matthew Boast and former South Africa Under-19 captain Jason Rowles among the names in the category. Boast was involved in a joint-highest bid at the Season 2 auction.
Meanwhile, the overseas contingent includes several established T20 names, among them Kieron Pollard, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamar Joseph, Mohammad Nabi, AM Ghazanfar, Jordan Cox, Aneurin Donald, Rehan Ahmed and Richard Gleeson.
Purse and slots remaining
The total purse available across the four teams is USD 2.11 million.
| Franchise | Purse | Slots | Under-23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joburg Super Kings | $1.24m | 6 | 1 |
| MI Cape Town | $562,813 | 6 | 1 |
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape (holders) | $216,699 | 2 | 0 |
| Pretoria Capitals | $88,786 | 5 | 0 |
* Durban's Super Giants and Paarl Royals have already completed their 19-player squads.
Joburg Super Kings and MI Cape Town have six slots each to fill, while Pretoria Capitals and holders Sunrisers Eastern Cape have five and two slots available respectively, setting the stage for a competitive bidding process in which the biggest names in world T20 cricket will battle for the limited spaces on offer.