CSA League South Africa: T20 league is going to start in South Africa from January 2023 on the lines of IPL. The owners of the world's biggest cricket league (IPL) have bought all the teams of this league. According to a report in ESPN, the Ambani family of Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings' N. Srinivasan, Parth Jindal of Delhi Capitals, Maran family of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sanjeev Goenka of Lucknow Super Giants and Manoj Badale of Rajasthan Royals have bought six franchises in this league.
Who got which team?
Chennai Super Kings is the highest bidder in the unofficial auction and has got the Johannesburg franchise. Mumbai Indians got the Cape Town team, while Sun TV Group, which owns Sunrisers Hyderabad, got the Port Elizabeth franchise. Sanjeev Goenka of Lucknow has selected the team from Durban. At the same time, Rajasthan Royals has bought Paarl team. Delhi Capitals team will be Pretoria. Soon the South Africa Board will formally announce the new owners.
Graeme Smith will be the commissioner of this league
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith will be the commissioner of this league. This is the first time that only a cricketer will lead a T20 franchise league. The idea of starting this league is of Sundar Raman, former Chief Operating Officer of IPL.
Mumbai and Chennai made the biggest bid
The deadline for bidding to buy the tournament's teams was initially 11 July, which was later extended to 13 July. The team's investors have been notified of their successful bids. Mumbai and Chennai have made the highest bid, which is close to Rs 250 crore. Like in the IPL model, each franchisee will have to pay 10 per cent of the franchise fee for 10 years.
Star players will also participate
Another T20 league is to be played in the UAE in January 2023 itself, which will clash with the dates of the South African League. That too may start by January-February, 2023. In such a situation, there has been talk between the organizers of both the leagues and it has been said that many players including England captain Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone are interested to play in the South African league. However, Moeen Ali has agreed to play in the UAE League.
West Indies players have also shown interest in playing in the UAE league, while Dwayne Bravo could be a part of the Chennai franchise in the South African league. Faf du Plessis has also described the league of his country as the first choice. At the same time, no information has been received about whether Indian players will be a part of this league or not.
Knight Riders plays in the Caribbean Super League
Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders plays in the IPL as well as the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). At the same time, he is also going to buy the team in the UAE League. This will be his third cricket team. Shahrukh has a large number of fans in UAE. Because of this, he is going to invest in this league as well.