At the SA20 2026 auction, every team had to pick at least two players from the domestic U23 category. Here is a list of the cricketers who were signed up.
Durban’s Super Giants
Kwena Maphaka (ZAR 2.3 million)
Not only was Maphaka the highest wicket-taker at the 2024 Under-19 World Cup, but his tally of 21 was also the second-most by anyone in a single edition. It was only a matter of time before he became the youngest to play for South Africa in all three formats in men’s cricket. Still a teenager, these are still early days for him, but one can see why DSG bid so much in the left-armer: his skills at 150kph pace are a rarity.
Gysbert Wege (ZAR 200,000)
Yet to make his professional debut in senior cricket, Wege leads and bats in the top order for the Maties Cricket Club. His 378 runs were 105 clear of anyone else’s tally at the 2025 Boland T20 Super League Finals, where his 63-ball 122 not out with eight fours and 10 sixes was also the only hundred.
Andile Simelane (ZAR 200,000)
The right-arm fast bowler played all four T20Is in the home series against India in end-2024, and has played thrice more since then. He has also played for South Africa A, and can be a hard hitter down the order.
Joburg Super Kings
Neil Timmers (ZAR 200,000)
Timmers, a left-handed hard-hitting batter, is yet to play professional cricket. His wicketkeeping skills may come in handy as well. In May 2023, Timmers was name-checked by Old Edwardians club coach Brandon Buckley, alongside South Africa U19 players Lhuan-dre Pretorius and David Teeger, as ones to watch for the future.
Steve Stolk (ZAR 200,000)
An astonishingly powerful hitter, Stolk hit a 13-ball fifty at the 2024 Under-19 World Cup to break Rishabh Pant’s record for the fastest fifty in the tournament. A quick-scoring top-order batter, he has played for the Pretoria Capitals in 2024.
MI Cape Town
Dan Lategan (ZAR 400,000)
Only 19, the Cape Town-born Lategan played five times for Worcestershire in the 2025 One-Day Cup. He crossed 30 every time, and scored 254 runs at 63.50 at the top with a strike rate of 90. He is set to make his T20 debut this season.
Tristan Luus (ZAR 650,000)
A bespectacled seamer (though he does not bowl in his glasses), Luus opened bowling with Maphaka in the 2024 U19 World Cup. He took 2-63 and 5-90 on first-class debut in April 2025, and has played for two MI franchises in the past – New York and Cape Town.
Paarl Royals
Lhuan-dre Pretorius (retained)
Pretorius needs little introduction after following a record-breaking first-class debut with a record-breaking Test debut. Seldom has a teenage batter been this comfortable against the best bowlers at the highest level. Paarl’s decision to retain him was a no-brainer.
Keagan Lion-Cachet (ZAR 950,000)
Lion-Cachet, uncapped in professional cricket back then, played as a keeper-batter five times in the middle order for PC in the last edition of the SA20. This year, he fetched nearly a million rand at the auction.
Nqobani Mokoena (ZAR 200,000)
Only 19, seam-bowling all-rounder Mokoena has been a regular feature for the South Africa Emerging team. He also made his professional debut last year, for the Dolphins in the CSA T20 Challenge.
JJ Basson (ZAR 200,000)
Predominantly a left-arm seamer, 17-year-old Basson also bats a bit. He picked up 4-33 against Bangladesh U19s at Harare in July 2025.
Pretoria Capitals
Dewald Brevis (ZAR 16.5 million)
The most expensive acquisition at SA20 2026 auction, Brevis was the Player of the Tournament at the 2022 U19 World Cup. He had a slump after that, but has not looked back once he found his mojo in 2024. Having played all three formats for South Africa, Brevis is the “veteran” of the category.
Meeka-eel Prince (ZAR 200,000)
Keeper-batter Prince has been playing professional cricket since 2022/23, and has played in all three formats. He also came close to an international cap when he was called up for the tri-nation series in Pakistan in early 2025 that also featured New Zealand.
Bayanda Majola (ZAR 200,000)
Now a regular for the South Africa U19s, 18-year-old seamer Majola had an excellent outing last month. Defending only 148, he claimed four wickets to reduce Bangladesh U19, but it went in vain.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Christopher “CJ” King (ZAR 200,000)
A bowler of genuine pace, CJ King made his SA20 debut for DSG last season. Since then, he has played for the Warriors in the two longer formats as well, picking up 3-46 and 2-22 against Knights and 5-61 against Dolphins in three consecutive innings.
JP King (ZAR 200,000)
CJ’s brother JP is a top-order batter who bowls off-breaks for the Warriors. In the two matches where CJ got the wickets (see above), JP made 43, 64, 7, and 143 (his maiden hundred, in the same game where his brother got his maiden five-for). He has played in the SA20 as well, for the JSK in 2025.
