SA20 Auction: Teams Allowed Six Retentions, Salary Cap Boost, and New "Right To Match" Card

SA20 Teams Permitted to Retain Up to Six Players for Auction

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

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 salary purse has been significantly increased to USD 2.3 million for each franchise.

Teams can retain a maximum of three overseas players within their six retentions. Each franchise can sign a maximum of seven overseas players in their 18-member squad, while a minimum of 11 slots are reserved for local South African talent.

A "wild card" signing will also be available to each of the six teams. This allows teams to sign either a South African or foreign cricketer, and their league fee will fall outside of the salary cap.

The auction will also introduce the Right To Match (RTM) card for the first time in the South African league. This will allow a franchise to match the winning auction bid for a player who played for them in the previous season, enabling them to retain the player for the 2025-26 edition. The number of RTM cards available to each franchise will vary depending on the number of South African players they retain.

Furthermore, the auction ahead of the fourth season will no longer include a Rookie Draft. Instead, franchises will be responsible for signing a minimum of 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 as the auctioneer for the fourth season, which is scheduled to begin on December 26.