SA’s four-match T20 series with India provides a timely “shop window” for Proteas players ahead of the much-hyped “mega auction” for the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Cricket’s richest competition will hold its player auction in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, on November 24 and 25, with more than 1,500 players vying for 204 spots in the 2025 IPL.
The IPL announced on Wednesday that 91 SA players had registered to be part of that auction, the second-largest figure for any country besides India.
However, the overall player list will be trimmed ahead of the auction after consultation with the 10 franchises, though it can be assumed many of the Proteas players involved in the series with India, will still be up for auction.
More than R1bn will be spent at the auction, and with SA’s series against India, the last high-profile competition before then, it is an ideal opportunity to garner attention from the franchises.
“The best marketing tool you can have is to play for your country and then imagine doing well against India. It would be an absolute win-win,” said agent Chris Cardoso, director of The Sporting Agents.
Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs were the only Proteas players who were retained by their respective franchises, the former by Sunrisers Hyderabad, for R48m, and Stubbs by the Delhi Capitals for R21m.
The rest including stellar names such as David Miller, Kagiso Rabada and T20 skipper Aiden Markram will all be in the player pot in Jeddah.
“Any opportunity to showcase your skills is a great chance to get picked up and seen by these IPL sides.
“They have so many scouts, managers, even people involved indirectly in their teams, and you never know who is watching any given game,” Cardoso said.
“Hopefully, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that a couple of boys get picked up. I’m very confident a couple more will go this season because of SA20.”
International matches always help of course with Klaasen’s unbeaten 43 in the 2018 “Pink ODI” at the Wanderers, an example of how one performance can swing attention a player’s way.
Though Klaasen had been a late replacement the previous year at Rajasthan Royals for Australian Steve Smith, that innings, which secured SA’s only victory in a six-match ODI series, saw Klaasen picked up for R1.05m in the 2019 auction by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Rabada is the biggest SA name missing from the series with India that starts in Durban on Wednesday, but his reputation and his ranking as Test cricket’s No 1 bowler will see him signed.
Miller and Markram’s experience should also count in their favour, but for the likes of Donovan Ferreira, who had a superb domestic T20 Challenge recently, any continuation of that kind of form in the next week, will certainly excite some of the teams.
Among the bowlers are Ottneil Baartman, who made enough of an impression in last season’s SA20 that he was called up to Delhi’s training squad, Gerald Coetzee, fresh off a rehabilitation programme, and Marco Jansen, who will be closely watched.
Higher-quality performances could add an extra zero on to their salaries, or even a bidding war.
Though Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma are missing from India’s squad, it remains a strong unit, with the bulk of the players having plenty of IPL experience, while captain Suryakumar Yadav, is one of four players who participated in this year’s T20 World Cup final, in which India defeated SA by seven runs.
The series is the first meeting between the teams since and with India’s big Test series against Australia only starting later in November, the four matches are expected to attract huge TV audiences in India.
The backdrop of the IPL auction will add to the appeal with Cricket SA expected to make about R600m from the broadcast rights for the series.
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