SA20 is South Africa’s premier men’s domestic T20 cricket league. The competition was launched in January 2023 and features six privately owned franchises representing major South African cricketing cities.
The league was created by Cricket South Africa (CSA) to bring high-level franchise T20 cricket back to the South African summer calendar. It quickly attracted some of the world’s leading players and has developed into one of the major T20 leagues outside India.
The competition has six teams, all of which have links to Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises or ownership groups. The six teams are MI Cape Town, Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape have been the dominant team in the competition so far. They won the first two editions and then claimed a third championship in 2025–26, becoming the first three-time SA20 champions.
What Is SA20?
SA20 is a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket competition organised in South Africa. It is operated with the support of Cricket South Africa and features six teams playing across six major cricket venues.
The league began with its inaugural season in January 2023. Each team initially had a squad of 18 players, including 17 regular squad members and one wildcard. Teams could field up to four overseas players in a match.
The league later introduced a Rookie Draft and increased squad sizes to 19 players. From Season 4, teams were required to include at least two Under-23 players in their 19-player squads.
SA20 combines South Africa’s domestic talent with international stars, giving young local players the opportunity to play alongside experienced international cricketers.
SA20 History
SA20 was launched in January 2023 after Cricket South Africa established a new franchise T20 competition.
The first season featured six teams and 33 league and playoff matches. Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the inaugural title after defeating Pretoria Capitals in the final at The Wanderers Stadium.
Aiden Markram led the Sunrisers to the championship and was also named Player of the Tournament after scoring 365 runs and taking 10 wickets.
The second season was played in 2024. Sunrisers Eastern Cape again reached the final, this time against Durban’s Super Giants, and successfully defended their title. They defeated DSG by 89 runs at Newlands to become the first back-to-back SA20 champions.
MI Cape Town finally broke Sunrisers’ dominance in Season 3 in 2025. They defeated Sunrisers Eastern Cape by 76 runs in the final at The Wanderers, with Kagiso Rabada taking 4/25 after MI Cape Town posted 181/8.
Sunrisers returned to the top in Season 4 in 2025–26. They defeated Pretoria Capitals by six wickets in the final at Newlands, with Tristan Stubbs and Matthew Breetzke sharing an unbeaten 114-run partnership.
SA20 Winners List
| Season | Year | Champion | Runner-up |
| Season 1 | 2023 | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | Pretoria Capitals |
| Season 2 | 2024 | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | Durban’s Super Giants |
| Season 3 | 2025 | MI Cape Town | Sunrisers Eastern Cape |
| Season 4 | 2025–26 | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | Pretoria Capitals |
Sunrisers Eastern Cape have won three of the four completed SA20 seasons. MI Cape Town are the only other team to have lifted the trophy.
SA20 Teams
There are six teams in SA20.
Durban’s Super Giants
Durban’s Super Giants represent Durban and play their home matches at Kingsmead. The franchise is connected to the Lucknow Super Giants ownership group in the IPL.
DSG reached the Season 2 final in 2024 but lost to Sunrisers Eastern Cape. They remain one of the established teams in the competition.
Joburg Super Kings
The Joburg Super Kings represent Johannesburg and play at the Wanderers Stadium. The franchise is linked to the Chennai Super Kings ownership group.
The team have featured several experienced South African and international players since the league’s launch.
MI Cape Town
MI Cape Town represents Cape Town and plays their home matches at Newlands. The team is part of the Mumbai Indians’ global franchise network.
MI Cape Town won their first SA20 title in 2025 after finishing the league stage at the top of the table and then winning both their playoff matches. They also set a record points tally of 35 during the Season 3 league phase.
Paarl Royals
Paarl Royals represent Paarl and play at Boland Park. The franchise is connected to Rajasthan Royals.
The Royals have been competitive in every season and have regularly reached the playoffs. Their squad has featured players such as David Miller, Jos Buttler and Joe Root.
Pretoria Capitals
The Pretoria Capitals represent Pretoria and play their home matches at Centurion.
The team is connected to the Delhi Capitals ownership group. Pretoria reached the inaugural final in 2023 and returned to the final in 2026 but lost both matches to Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Sunrisers Eastern Cape represent Gqeberha and play their home matches at St George’s Park.
They are the most successful team in SA20 history, winning three of the first four titles. The franchise won the inaugural competition in 2023, defended its title in 2024 and won again in 2026.
SA20 Format
The SA20 format is based on a double round-robin league stage followed by playoffs.
Each team plays every other team twice, once at home and once away. This gives each franchise 10 league matches.
The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.
The team finishing first plays the team finishing second in Qualifier 1. The winner goes directly to the final, while the loser gets another opportunity through Qualifier 2.
The third- and fourth-placed teams play in the Eliminator. The winner then faces the Qualifier 1 loser in Qualifier 2.
The winner of Qualifier 2 joins the Qualifier 1 winner in the final.
This system rewards the teams that perform best during the league stage while still giving the top two teams an additional route to the final.
SA20 Player Auction
SA20 uses a player auction system to build franchise squads.
Teams receive a salary cap and can sign players through pre-signings, the auction and other mechanisms such as wildcards. The league has also used a Rookie Draft to give young South African players an opportunity to enter the competition.
For Season 3, the salary cap was R39.1 million per team. Each squad could contain 19 players, including a wildcard and a rookie, with a minimum of 10 South African players and a maximum of seven overseas players.
The regulations have evolved since the inaugural season, but the main objective has remained the same: combine South African talent with leading international T20 players.
SA20 2023
The inaugural SA20 season was played in January and February 2023.
Six teams competed for the first championship, with Pretoria Capitals topping the league stage. Sunrisers Eastern Cape then defeated the Capitals in the final to become the first SA20 champions.
Aiden Markram was one of the standout performers of the tournament. He scored 365 runs and took 10 wickets, earning the Player of the Tournament award.
Jos Buttler finished the first season as the leading run-scorer with 391 runs for Paarl Royals.
SA20 2024
Sunrisers Eastern Cape successfully defended their title in Season 2.
They finished the league phase strongly before beating Durban’s Super Giants in Qualifier 1. The two teams then met again in the final at Newlands.
Sunrisers produced another strong performance to win the championship and become the first team to win two SA20 titles.
The season also introduced the Rookie Draft, designed to help young South African players gain experience alongside established international cricketers.
SA20 2025
MI Cape Town won their first SA20 championship in Season 3.
They topped the league table with seven wins, two defeats and one no-result, finishing with a record 35 points. They then defeated Paarl Royals in Qualifier 1 before beating Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final.
The final took place at The Wanderers on February 8, 2025.
MI Cape Town scored 181/8 before Kagiso Rabada produced a brilliant spell of 4/25 to bowl the Sunrisers out for 105. MI Cape Town won by 76 runs and claimed their first SA20 title.
Rassie van der Dussen was MI Cape Town’s leading run-scorer with 393 runs, while Rabada took 12 wickets during the campaign.
SA20 2025–26
The fourth season was played during the 2025–26 South African summer.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape again reached the final after finishing among the top two. They lost Qualifier 1 to the Pretoria Capitals but defeated the Paarl Royals in Qualifier 2 to earn another place in the championship match.
The final was played at Newlands on January 24, 2026.
The Pretoria Capitals scored 158/7, with Dewald Brevis hitting 101 from 56 balls. Sunrisers then chased the target successfully, reaching 162/4 in 19.2 overs.
Tristan Stubbs and Matthew Breetzke added an unbeaten 114-run partnership to take the Sunrisers to their third title. They won by six wickets with four balls remaining.
The victory made Sunrisers Eastern Cape the first three-time SA20 champions.
SA20 Season 4 Awards
The 2025–26 season produced several major individual performances.
Quinton de Kock was named SA20 Batter of the Season as well as SA20 Player of the Season at the 2026 Cricket South Africa Professional Awards. Jordan Hermann won the SA20 Rising Star award, while Lungi Ngidi was named SA20 Bowler of the Season.
Sunrisers captain Tristan Stubbs and Matthew Breetzke were also central to the team’s title-winning campaign, particularly during the final.
SA20 Season 5
The fifth season of SA20 will take place in 2027.
The league has confirmed 34 fixtures for Season 5, with the tournament scheduled to return in January 2027. The opening match will be between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Pretoria Capitals at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on January 17.
The Season 5 player auction was held in October 2026. One of the biggest signings was former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, who was bought by Joburg Super Kings for R2.7 million. West Indies great Kieron Pollard also joined JSK for R1.5 million.
The upcoming season will again feature the same six franchises.
SA20 Venues
The league uses six main home venues:
| Team | Home Venue | City |
| Durban’s Super Giants | Kingsmead | Durban |
| Joburg Super Kings | Wanderers | Johannesburg |
| MI Cape Town | Newlands | Cape Town |
| Paarl Royals | Boland Park | Paarl |
| Pretoria Capitals | SuperSport Park | Centurion |
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape | St George’s Park | Gqeberha |
The six venues form an important part of the SA20 identity, with teams representing different cricketing regions and cities across South Africa.
SA20 and Young Players
One of SA20’s main objectives is to provide a pathway for young South African cricketers.
The Rookie Draft was introduced in Season 2, while later regulations required teams to include Under-23 players in their squads.
The league has already helped introduce several young players to a wider audience. Dewald Brevis became one of the competition’s most recognised young stars, while players such as Lhuan-dre Pretorius have also made major breakthroughs.
Pretorius finished as the leading run-scorer for Paarl Royals in Season 3 with 397 runs in his maiden SA20 campaign.
Most Successful SA20 Teams
| Team | Titles |
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape | 3 |
| MI Cape Town | 1 |
| Durban’s Super Giants | 0 |
| Joburg Super Kings | 0 |
| Paarl Royals | 0 |
| Pretoria Capitals | 0 |
Sunrisers Eastern Cape currently lead the SA20 championship table by a significant margin, having won three of the first four editions. MI Cape Town are the only other champions.
SA20 Records and Highlights
Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s three championships are the biggest achievement in the competition’s short history.
MI Cape Town’s Season 3 campaign also stands out. They finished the league stage with 35 points, the highest total recorded after the league phase at that time, and won all five of their home matches at Newlands.
Dewald Brevis produced one of the most memorable performances in the 2026 final, scoring 101 from 56 balls for Pretoria Capitals. Despite his century, Sunrisers successfully chased 159 to win the championship.
Ottneil Baartman has also become one of the leading bowlers in SA20 history. During Season 4, he moved past Marco Jansen to become the competition’s leading wicket-taker, reaching 57 wickets.
The league has also grown significantly off the field. Season 4 had 22 of its 34 matches sold out, while the final sold out for a fourth consecutive year.
SA20 At a Glance
| Category | Details |
| Full Name | SA20 |
| Governing Body | Cricket South Africa |
| First Season | 2023 |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Home Country | South Africa |
| Completed Seasons | 4 |
| Latest Champion | Sunrisers Eastern Cape |
| Most Successful Team | Sunrisers Eastern Cape |
| Most Titles | 3 |
| 2025 Champion | MI Cape Town |
| 2026 Champion | Sunrisers Eastern Cape |
| Next Season | Season 5 |
| Season 5 Start | January 17, 2027 |
| Total Season 5 Matches | 34 |
FAQs
Q. When did SA20 start?
A. SA20 started in January 2023.
Q. How many teams play in SA20?
A. Six teams play in SA20.
Q. Which team has won the most SA20 titles?
A. Sunrisers Eastern Cape have won three titles.
Q. Who won the latest SA20 season?
A. Sunrisers Eastern Cape won Season 4 in 2026.
Q. When will SA20 Season 5 start?
A. Season 5 will start on January 17, 2027.
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