NEWS
Follow UsCricket South Africa, on Wednesday (July 20), confirmed that the Indian Premier League franchise owners have bagged all six franchises available at its new T20 league, which is scheduled to take place in January and February next year.
29 expressed interest to buy a franchise but it is eventually the IPL team owners who were able to rule over the proceedings. CSA said there had been a "rigorous process over the past few months" before the franchise owners were confirmed.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings placed their bids close to INR 250 crore and are set to have a team based in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively, while Delhi Capitals will have their team in Pretoria.
Sanjiv Goenka, owner of Lucknow Super Giants had earlier expressed his interest to have Durban and the RPSG Sports Private Limited managed to acquire the franchise. Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals have taken up the franchise based in Port Elizabeth and Paarl respectively.
Graeme Smith, who has been appointed as Commissioner of the league, said: "We are thrilled to welcome our new franchise owners to the South African League taking place in January and February 2023. This is truly an exciting time for South African cricket; the overwhelming interest shows that the country remains valued in the global cricketing eco-system.
"The strong sports background of the respective owners and the global brands they manage ensures that South African cricket and the broader industry will benefit from their expertise and resources, as they bring stability and experience to the League."
CSA and broadcasters SuperSport are the major shareholders in the new venture.
South Africa last week withdrew from a scheduled World Cup Super League one-day international series in Australia in January, which would have clashed with the T20 tournament. That decision leaves South Africa's bid to qualify automatically for next year's World Cup in danger, with the Proteas sitting 11th in the Super League table.
