South Africa announce six-team T20 franchise league

Cricket South Africa has announced a six-team franchise T20 league on Friday set to begin in January next year. The tournament is also set to feature overseas players.

Each team will play six matches in the round-robin stage with a total of 33 matches set to be played overall over a course of three to four weeks. A company formed by CSA and SuperSport will manage the tournament.

"The company is looking at a very attractive player salary bill per team that will rival other leagues around the world outside of the IPL," CSA said in an official release said.

"We are excited by the formation of something this fresh and invigorating, which also offers the opportunity for private investment into the franchises. CSA has already received interest from a number of potential local and international investors," CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki said.

CSA had previously conducted the Mzansi Super League in 2018 as its flagship tournament with eight teams for two years. The tournament ran into financial trouble due to the pandemic was discontinued since 2020.