SA20 Teams Given Green Light for Six Player Retentions Ahead of Season 4 Auction

The SA20 league has announced that franchises will be permitted to retain up to six players before the upcoming auction for the fourth season. This decision, along with other strategic changes, is set to make the auction a highly anticipated event.

The player auction is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg on September 9. With a minimum of 72 slots available across the six teams, the stakes are high. To further incentivize competition, the salary purse has been significantly increased to USD 2.3 million for each team.

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

Franchises can retain a maximum of six players before the auction, with a limit of three overseas players among those retentions. Each team can field a squad of 18 players, including a maximum of seven overseas players and a minimum of 11 local players.

A notable addition for this season is the introduction of a 'wild card player' option. Teams can sign either a South African or a foreign cricketer as their wild card, and their league fee will not count against the salary cap.

The auction will also feature the Right To Match (RTM) card for the first time in the South African league. This allows franchises to match the winning bid for a player who was on their team in the previous season, effectively retaining the player 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 is the removal of the Rookie Draft. Instead, franchises are now required to include at least two Under-23 players in their final 19-player squads.

"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," said Stephen Cook, Head of Cricket Operations at SA20. "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 commence on December 26, Boxing Day.