SA20 Teams Get Green Light for Six Player Retentions Ahead of Auction

SA20 Teams Granted Up to Six Retentions Ahead of Auction

The SA20 league has announced that franchises will be allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the upcoming auction for its fourth season. The auction is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg on September 9.

All the franchises will see an increase in the purse to USD 2.3 million © Sportzpics

With a minimum of 72 slots available across the six teams, the salary purse has been significantly increased to USD 2.3 million for each franchise. Teams are permitted to retain a maximum of six players, including no more than three international players.

Each team can have a maximum of seven overseas players in their 18-member squad, with at least 11 slots reserved for local South African talent. A wild card signing option will also be available to each of the six teams, allowing them to sign either a South African or international player whose league fee falls outside the salary cap.

A new feature for this year's auction is the introduction of the Right To Match (RTM) card. This will allow franchises to match the winning bid for a player who was part of their team in the previous season, thus retaining their services for the 2025-26 edition. The number of RTM cards available to each franchise will depend on the number of South African players they have retained.

Another change for the fourth season is the removal of the Rookie Draft. Instead, franchises will be required to sign a minimum of two Under-23 players in their final 19-player squads.

Stephen Cook, Head of Cricket Operations at SA20, stated, "The SA20 Season 4 Player Auction is setting up to be the most exciting yet, with about 60% of player slots available for the franchises to fill. Mechanisms such as RTM cards, Wildcard players and an increased salary cap are sure to create interesting situations for teams and will allow them to strategically select their squads. We have seen some life-changing transactions already in the past few years and the upcoming auction should see plenty more."

Richard Madley will continue to serve as the auctioneer for the fourth season, which is scheduled to begin on December 26.