The third edition of the SA20 will begin on January 9, with reigning champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape taking on MI Cape Town at St George's Park, which is a pulsing bowl of noise every time Aiden Markram and Co. turn up. Last season had sold-out crowds across venues and SA20 2025 is set to be even bigger, with a number of T20 stars signing up for the tournament despite clashes with other T20 leagues. Here's all you need to know about SA20 2025
Sunrisers Eastern Cape are the defending champions, right?
Indeed. Having won the tournament in 2023 and 2024, Sunrisers, under captain Markram and coach Adrian Birrell, will gun for a three-peat. If they manage to do so, they will emulate Jaffna Kings, who had recently won three titles in a row at the Lanka Premier League.
Sunrisers have a particularly strong local core - Markram, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs and Ottneil Baartman - with some talented overseas players complementing them. They have lost Dan Worrall, who was their powerplay specialist last season, to Gulf Giants in the ILT20, but have filled that void by bringing in Craig Overton, who can also swing the new ball from his tall frame, and added Richard Gleeson, who can clock 140kph, to their roster. They have strengthened their batting by snapping up David Bedingham, who is set for his SA20 bow.
Markram had a wretched 2024 with the bat in T20Is, but you just can't look past him and his team in the SA20.
Who will challenge Sunrisers for the title?
MI had finished rock bottom in 2023 and 2024, but if they perform to potential this season, they could challenge the might of Sunrisers. Before combining with Jasprit Bumrah in the IPL for Mumbai Indians, Trent Boult will work with Kagiso Rabada in a partnership that promises to be just as mouth-watering.
Reeza Hendricks, for whom MI forked out Rand 4.3 million will reunite with his Lions team-mates Rassie van der Dussen at MI in the SA20. This is a chance for allrounder Corbin Bosch, MI's wildcard signing, to enhance his reputation after having enjoyed a memorable Test debut for South Africa in the Boxing Day fixture.
Rashid Khan will lead a side that also has Colin Ingram, George Linde and Nuwan Thushara in its ranks. In a significant blow, however, Ben Stokes is set to miss the SA20 with a recurrence of a hamstring tear, for which he has had surgery.
Does the league clash with SA's international commitments again?
No. Not this time.
The SA20's clash with SA's Test series in New Zealand caused a stir last year, with the CSA prioritising its league over Test cricket at the time. Any South African player with an SA20 deal was informed of their contractual obligations to play in the tournament ahead of the Tests, which resulted in a squad with seven uncapped players, including the stand-in captain Neil Brand, being selected for the New Zealand tour.
The SA20, however, overlaps with other T20 tournaments - Australia's Big Bash League, UAE's ILT20, New Zealand's Super Smash and the Bangladesh Premier League.
What's the format of the league like?
The top-four teams in the six-team league will qualify for the knockouts, which will have IPL-style qualifiers and an eliminator. To summarise, the teams placed first and second after the league phase will play in the first qualifier, with the winner going straight to the final. The teams placed third and fourth will play an eliminator with the loser out of contention. Then, the loser of the first qualifier will play the winner of the eliminator to determine the second finalist.
Gqeberha is set to host the first qualifier while Centurion will stage the eliminator and second qualifier. The final will be held in Johannesburg on February 8.
Tell me about the big overseas names who will be in action
Despite the clashes, the SA20 has some big drawcards, including Rashid, Boult, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Matheesha Pathirana and Dinesh Karthik.
Boult will complete the MI set, having already played for their teams in the IPL (Mumbai Indians), MLC (MI New York) and ILT20 (MI Emirates). For Williamson and Conway, this will be their first stints at the SA20. Williamson will play for Durban's Super Giants while Conway will reunite with Stephen Fleming at Joburg Super Kings, having already won the IPL title under him at CSK.
Having "sold everything" and left South Africa, the Johannesburg-born Conway will have a special homecoming at this SA20. Back in the day, Conway and Tabraiz Shamsi used to be house-mates in South Africa but then their paths diverged. Years later, at the SA20, their paths will converge again.
Also, watch out for Pathirana vs Thushara in the battle of the Lasith Malinga clones.
Did you mention Dinesh Karthik?
Yes, the former India international will rock up for Paarl Royals this season. He's set to become the first Indian to feature in the SA20 and will also serve as the tournament's brand ambassador. Since retiring from Indian and international cricket in June 2024, Karthik has been part of the Legends League and the Abu Dhabi T10 league.
Family affairs
Having been hit by injuries, JSK have called up allrounder Hardus Viljoen, who will play under his brother-in-law Faf du Plessis, who had led St Lucia Kings to the CPL title in 2024.
JP King, who was invited for JSK's training sessions last season, will join them as a rookie player for this season while his brother CJ King will be part of the Super Giants side.
The Bosch brothers - Corbin and Eathan - were on the same side (Pretoria Capitals) in SA20 2024, but Corbin has now moved to MI, which could add some spice to the MI-Capitals clash.
Is Imran Tahir still an active T20 player?
Indeed. Imran Tahir, who will turn 46 in March, is still going strong in T20 cricket. He will link up with Shamsi and Maheesh Theekshana at JSK. Tahir is currently the fourth-highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket, with 526 strikes in 420 games.
What about the Impact Player rule?
The SA20 doesn't have the Impact Player rule in place like the IPL, but teams can name their final XIs after the toss. Captains can take two team sheets to the toss - one with their bat-first XI and the other with their bowl-first XI - and offer up the final list once the toss has been completed.