SA20 Auction: Teams Allowed to Retain Up to Six Players, RTM Card Introduced, and Salary Cap Boosted

SA20 Teams Can Retain Up to Six Players in Upcoming Auction

The fourth season of the SA20 is gearing up for an exciting player auction, scheduled to be held in Johannesburg on September 9. A significant increase in the salary purse to USD 2.3 million for each team is expected to intensify the bidding wars as franchises vie for top talent.

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

Each of the six franchises will have the option to retain a maximum of six players from their previous squads. These retentions can also include pre-signed players, with a limit of three overseas players among them.

Here's a breakdown of the squad composition rules:

• Maximum overseas players: 7
• Minimum local players: 11
• Total squad size: 18

Adding another layer of strategy, a wild card signing is available for each team, allowing them to recruit either a South African or an international player whose league fee will not count towards the salary cap.

The SA20 auction will introduce the Right To Match (RTM) card, a feature not previously seen in the league. This allows a franchise to match the winning bid for a player who was part of their squad in the previous season. The number of RTM cards available to each team will depend on the number of South African players they have already retained.

One notable change for the fourth season is the removal of the Rookie Draft. Instead, franchises will now be responsible for ensuring that their final 19-player squads include at least two Under-23 players.

Stephen Cook, Head of Cricket Operations at SA20, expressed his excitement about the upcoming auction. "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," Cook said. "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 his role as the auctioneer for the fourth season, which is set to commence on December 26, Boxing Day.