The player auction for the fourth season of the SA20 will be held in Johannesburg on September 9, 2025, ahead of the tournament’s start on December 26, 2025.
A total of 84 slots are available across six franchises, with a combined purse of US$7.37 million available. Each team has a salary cap of US$2.31 million.
This year, more than 800 players registered for the auction. After reviews by franchises, the final pool has been narrowed down to 541 players, comprising 300 South Africans and 241 overseas cricketers.
Some of the big names in the auction pool include South Africa’s T20I captain Aiden Markram, along with Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, while the overseas group features Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib-al-Hasan, England’s James Anderson, Alex Hales and Moeen Ali, and New Zealand’s Devon Conway.
Read: Full player list for the SA20 2026 player auction
SA20 2026 auction: Where to watch live
In India: JioHotstar will live-stream the event from 5.30 pm IST. It will also be available on Star Sports 1 (SD+HD).
Live streaming will also be available on the SA20 YouTube channel.
Follow the live blog for the auction here.
Watch SA20 2026 auction live
What are the auction rules and format?
Each franchise must build a squad of 19 players, which must include at least two South African Under-23 players. A maximum of seven overseas players can be signed, while a minimum of nine South Africans is compulsory. Teams are also allowed an additional wildcard slot.
For the first time, franchises will also have access to Right to Match cards, allowing them to retain a previously released player by matching the highest bid.
All you need to know about the six franchises ahead of the auction
Durban Super Giants
- Purse left: US$1.66 million
- Head coach: Lance Klusener
- Retained: Noor Ahmad
- Pre-signings: Jos Buttler, Sunil Narine
- Wildcard: Heinrich Klaasen
Joburg Super Kings
- Purse left: US$1.2 million
- Head coach: Stephen Fleming
- Retained: Faf du Plessis (captain)
- Pre-signings: Richard Gleeson, Akeal Hosein, James Vince
- Wildcard: Donovan Ferreira
MI Cape Town
- Purse left: US$0.65 million
- Head coach: Robin Peterson
- Retained: Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, George Linde, Ryan Rickelton
- Pre-signings: Nicholas Pooran
- Wildcard: Kagiso Rabada
Paarl Royals
- Purse left: US$0.819 million
- Head coach: Trevor Penney
- Retained: Bjorn Fortuin, David Miller, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
- Pre-signings: Sikandar Raza
- Wildcard: Rubin Hermann
Pretoria Capitals
- Purse left: US$1.86 million
- Head coach: Sourav Ganguly
- Retained: Will Jacks
- Pre-signings: Sherfane Rutherford
- Wildcard: Andre Russell
Sunrisers Eastern Cape
- Purse left: US$1.2 million
- Head coach: Adrian Birrell
- Retained: Tristan Stubbs
- Pre-signings: Jonny Bairstow, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Adam Milne
- Wildcard: Marco Jansen
Revealed: Why R Ashwin isn't in the SA20 2026 player auction
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