New T20 league will help South Africans play alongside global stars after ages, says CSA president

Mumbai: Cricket South Africa (CSA) president Chris Nenzani on Monday welcomed the prospect of South African fans being able to see their Proteas heroes as well as a significant number of the world’s global stars in action in the inaugural edition of its #T20 Global Destination League, debuting later this year.

“This is truly a win-win situation for all the stakeholders in South African cricket,” said Nenzani.

“It has now been eight years since we last hosted a major ICC tournament. In the intervening years, our fans have only been able to see the world’s best players during bilateral tours. With this new #T20 Global Destination League, we present an opportunity for these players to be seen in South Africa on an annual basis,” added Nenzani in a media statement.

“We are excited to see our star Protea players in action with all Protea players available to play in the tournament. Eight star South African players will be pre-assigned to each of the teams. There will be over 120 participating players with over 80 spots for South Africans. In addition, this tournament will reach its crescendo at the start of the summer holiday season which will make it particularly attractive to our youth.

“It has also become a trend for the franchises in these competitions to appoint past icons to their coaching staff, and this will have further benefits for the game. The opportunity is there for our own players and coaches to interact with the best, and this has particular significance for those of our players who have yet to play international cricket to test their ability at a very significant level,” Nenzani added.

“Our tournament has now become a reality and it is something we can embrace with a sense of excitement and enthusiasm. I would like to commend our Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, and his team for the outstanding manner in which they have done the ground work to make this all possible,” Nenzani added.

The process for securing international players will be closely monitored to ensure proper procedures are followed and NOCs are received by the respective home Boards, said the statement.

Lorgat had conceded that one of the major considerations before announcing the launch of an ambitious Twenty20 Global Destination League was losing key South African players to the Kolpak agreement.

Recently speedster Kyle Abbott and batsman Rilee Roussouw migrated to England to play County cricket.

“Yes I must say that when we conceptualised a franchise-based T20 league, the Kolpak was a major consideration. Obviously, you want to give opportunity to the South African players to grow and also make a career out of cricket.

“Earlier, the only way to have a good career was to play for South African national team but this league with eight teams will have 88 slots for Proteas players,” Lorgat had told PTI.