Faf surrenders crown as Super Kings seek new flavour for SA20

Faf du Plessis, Wiaan Mulder and Nandré Burger will all be in the hat at October’s SA20 mini-auction after being released by the Joburg Super Kings before season 5.

The Super Kings, who named Albie Morkel as head coach to replace Stephen Fleming, have the most slots available on their roster — seven — one of which is their wildcard spot, with the remaining six to be picked at the auction. Du Plessis’ absence from the list of retained and presigned players announced on Wednesday might indicate a new direction for the franchise, which has largely disappointed since the advent of the tournament.

Fleming stepped away in July, signalling a major reset for a franchise that has been the most dominant in the Indian Premier League — appearing in 10 finals and winning five — but whose affiliates in Joburg and Texas (in Major League Cricket) are nowhere near as decorated as the primary team in Chennai.

Du Plessis has been a key figure in the franchise’s three teams and captained Joburg in the first four seasons of the SA20. He is JSK’s leading run-scorer and one of only four players who have scored a century in the tournament.

Mulder and Burger were two of the most expensive signings at last year’s mega-auction, with JSK paying R9m for the former and R6.3m for the left-arm seamer. Neither made the kind of impression those prices warranted, with Mulder scoring 137 runs and taking nine wickets, while Burger played seven games and took seven wickets.

Former West Indies captain Jason Holder was the big presigning for JSK. The 34-year-old spent the inaugural SA20 season with the Durban Super Giants and was recently an influential figure in the LA Knight Riders’ triumph in this year’s Major League Cricket tournament.

With seven spots available, a new coach at the helm and possibly a new captain, JSK are certainly signalling that they’re taking a different route, which they will hope ends in them at least making it to the final of the SA20 for the first time.

Besides Du Plessis’ absence, the biggest name in this year’s tournament is Mitchell Marsh, who is foregoing the Big Bash League (BBL) in his home country to represent the three-time champions, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. While no longer a bowler, the 34-year-old is one of the most destructive hitters in the shortest format, particularly at the top of the order.

He formed a devastating opening partnership with Aiden Markram at Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, something that the franchise inexplicably broke up this year. Marsh’s signing underlines growing concern in Australia about the SA20’s ability to attract leading players as debate continues over the future ownership of BBL franchises.

Another Australian, Matthew Short, the BBL player of the year in 2023, has signed with Pretoria Capitals. He has represented Australia in 23 ODIs and 24 T20 internationals.

The Sunrisers also released Beyers Swanepoel, who had only played for them seven times in two seasons, and his name will be of interest to the four teams with spots available on their rosters.

Swanepoel attracted unwanted publicity after he left the ground before the end of the domestic One-Day Cup final last season to catch a flight to England. His team, the Lions, lost that match, and the union later fired the 28-year-old.

He was subsequently signed by the Titans, who ironically beat the Lions in that final.

Other notable signings for season five include the return of Joe Root to Paarl Royals before the tournament, which starts on January 17.

Root, who will captain England’s Test side against the Proteas in the three-Test series in December/January, was a popular, effective part of the Royals team that qualified for the playoffs in 2025 and featured Lhu-andre Pretorius as a rookie.

Other high-profile England players in the competition include Will Jacks (MI Cape Town), Phil Salt (Pretoria Capitals) and Sam Curran, who joins Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone at Durban’s Super Giants.

The auction for the remaining 19 roster spots will take place on October 7.