SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith has emphasized the necessity for the league to collaborate closely with Cricket South Africa (CSA) in order to prevent potential conflicts between the franchise-based T20 tournament and international bilateral engagements.
Despite the second edition of SA20 witnessing the Sunrisers Eastern Cape successfully defending their title, it was not without drawbacks. An overlap in schedules led CSA to field a second-string Test squad, captained by Neil Brand, for the two-match away series against New Zealand, resulting in a significant defeat for South Africa in the series opener.
Smith affirmed the commitment to avoiding such occurrences in the future, stating that both entities will coordinate to align their respective schedules. He stressed that the SA20 is unlikely to change its traditional early-year window.
“It should never have happened. We will work together with Cricket South Africa to make sure that doesn’t happen again. We generally will always be in the same window and we will have to gather information around the international tournaments and will be working with CSA on scheduling,” Graeme Smith said during a media interaction (via Hindustan Times).
Additionally, the SA20 window coincides with other T20 franchise leagues such as the International League T20 (ILT20) and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), with some overlap with the Big Bash League (BBL).
“So we have already started all of that and we will take a look at the window. We have been quite upfront. January-February window is where Cricket South Africa identified as the best place to be. But you have always got to reflect and see what the challenges are in the world game,” Smith added.
Looking ahead to the 2025 edition of SA20, potential clashes with other cricketing events, including the Champions Trophy and South Africa’s tour of Pakistan, are anticipated. Smith mentioned the flexibility in scheduling and the importance of making informed decisions in collaboration with the ICC and CSA.
“The Champions Trophy dates are not set in stone. We will work with the ICC and CSA and once we’ve got confirmed information, we can make informed decisions,” Smith said.
South Africa’s decision to prioritize the inaugural SA20 season over a home ODI series initially impacted their ODI World Cup qualification prospects but ultimately resulted in automatic progression.
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