The newly-announced South African T20 league, set to be staged earlier next year, has received immense backing from the Indian Premier League franchises. All six franchises that went under the hammer have been acquired by IPL owners.

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As many as 29 firms, including franchise owners from Pakistan Super League, expressed interest, but most couldn’t match the bidding amount of the IPL teams. Kevin Pietersen, the South African native who played for England, was also in contention to acquire a new franchise.

This is the second attempt from Cricket South Africa (CSA) to start a full-fledged domestic T20 league after Mzansi Super League failed to take off. The league is backed by CSA (57.5%), SuperSport (30%), and Sundar Raman (12.5%).

IPL Teams Involved In The League

Reportedly, both Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have played Rs 250 crore each to acquire franchises based out of prominent cities. Mumbai Indians, owned by Mukesh Ambani, have set their sight on Cape Town, where they’ll play their home games at Newlands Cricket Ground. Chennai Super Kings, meanwhile, are targetting the Johannesburg-based franchise.

Other than these two, Delhi Capitals will have a team called Pretoria Capitals. Sunrisers Hyderabad have shown interest in a team based in Port Elizabeth, while Lucknow Super Giants want to take control of the Durban-based side.

The league will be modelled on the IPL, where six teams will play each other twice, and the top four will enter the qualification mark. The board intends to expand this to a nine-team event in the future. The league, set to be staged in January next year, is likely to coincide with the newly introduced T20 competition in Abu Dhabi. 

Jos Buttler, Faf du Plessis, and Liam Livingstone have already signed up to play in the CSA league, while Moeen Ali will be playing in the Abu Dhabi league, which is also backed by several IPL franchises. 

Featured Image Credit: Mumbai Indians