SA20 Teams Allowed Six Player Retentions Ahead of Season 4 Auction

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

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 SA20 is set to be more competitive than ever. In preparation, the salary purse for each team has been significantly increased to USD 2.3 million.

Retention Rules and Overseas Players

Each franchise can retain a maximum of six players or pre-sign them before the auction. However, no more than three of these can be overseas players.

Key points for team composition:

• Maximum of seven overseas players in the 18-member squad.
• Minimum of 11 slots reserved for local South African talent.

Wild Card and Right to Match

A "wild card" signing is available to each of the six teams. This allows them to sign either a South African or foreign cricketer whose league fee will not count toward the salary cap.

The SA20 auction will also introduce the Right To Match (RTM) card for the first time. This will allow franchises to match the winning bid for a player who played for them in the previous season, ensuring they can retain key talent. The number of RTM cards available to each franchise will depend on how many South African players they have retained.

No More Rookie Draft

Unlike previous seasons, there will be no Rookie Draft for the fourth season. Instead, franchises must sign at least two Under-23 players in their final 19-player squads.

Official Statement

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 return as the auctioneer for the fourth season, which is scheduled to begin on December 26th.