SA20 Auction: Uthappa, Naseem gear up to go under the hammer for Season 2

Australian Kane Richardson, New Zealander Colin de Grandhomme, Indian Robin Uthappa, Pakistan duo Naseem Shah and Mohammad Nawaz, Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews and West Indians Johnson Charles and Romario Shepherd are among a host of international stars who have registered for the SA20 Season 2 auction.

The former India star batter, Robin Uthappa, who was a mainstay of India’s inaugural ICC T20 World Cup-winning squad in South Africa in 2007, could also become the first Indian player to participate in the SA20. In total, 122 overseas players from 14 countries have been shortlisted for the auction, which will take place in Johannesburg on September 27.

A crop of South Africa’s domestic talent have put their names forward for the auction, including 13 capped Proteas players. Kyle Verreynne and Janneman Malan are among the players who will be looking for new teams after playing for the Joburg Super Kings last season. The reserve base price for all South African domestic players is R175 000.

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The six teams have already retained a number of players after the first year of the competition, with 15 auction picks remaining across the six teams. A brand new segment has been added to the SA Season 2 auction, with the introduction of a Rookie player pick. This is a South African player aged 22 or under on the day of the auction that has not been contracted to SA20 before, which will be added to each squad making it a total of 21 slots on the day.

Players meeting the definition of a Rookie can be bought in the regular auction stage, but if not chosen in the regular auction, will then be eligible for the new Rookie draft which will take place at the conclusion of the regular auction. Each Rookie player has a set value, which will be deducted from the team’s salary cap of R39.1 million – an increase of R5.1 million from last season. MI Cape Town will have the first Rookie draft pick with the remaining picks running in reverse order to where they finished last season. Inaugural Betway SA20 champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, will therefore have the last Rookie draft pick.

Recent South Africa U19 captains Bryce Parsons, George van Heerden and Juan James are among the Rookie player list, along with experienced domestic first-class players such as Jonathan Bird, Ruan Terblanche and Tiaan van Vuuren. The interest to acquire young South African talent will certainly be a highlight of the Betway SA20 Season 2 auction, with Paarl Royals already leading the way with their pre-signing of current South Africa U19 and SA ‘A’ left-arm quick, Kwena Maphaka. The 17-year-old is the youngest player to be signed, with the Paarl outfit snapping up the talented bowler ahead of the auction.

All squads are required to include 19 players, with a minimum of 10 South African players, a maximum of seven international players, the new Rookie South African player, and a Wildcard player. Four teams still have the option to include the Wildcard player for Season 2 and will have until the December 30 deadline to confirm their selection.

Durban’s Super Giants have a remaining purse of R1.675 million heading into the auction needing to fill three more slots, while Joburg Super Kings will be in the market for five players with a remaining purse of R6.1 million. MI Cape Town have a remaining R5.05 million in their purse, while Paarl Royals boast R8.865 million in search of four players. Last season’s runners-up, Pretoria Capitals, have a remaining purse of R9.737 million to add a further six players to complete their 19-player squad.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape have retained the core of their championship-winning squad which has left them with only three picks and a purse of R1.790 million available at the auction. The auction will take place in Johannesburg on Wednesday, September 27 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport from 16h00 (SAST) with rolling coverage on all SA20 social and digital platforms.

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