SA20 Auction: Tristan Stubbs pockets highest bid, Temba Bavuma goes unsold in first edition
SA20 Auction: Tristan Stubbs attracts highest bid, Temba Bavuma goes unsold in first edition of South Africa T20 League. Full squads, players, captain and top most expensive buys at South Africa T20 League.

The inaugural edition of South Africa’s T20 league (SA20) is expected to not only stabilise the financial condition of South African cricket but also going to offer a global platform for the local South African players to showcase their talents further in their career.
Surprises and disappointments cover maiden SA20 Auction
The maiden auction for SA20 was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on September 19, and it turned out to be an eventful exercise for the team owners and all others involved with some exciting signs highlighting each of the six franchise’s players list.
The biggest disappointment of the day was South Africa’s T20I captain for the upcoming ICC World T20 2022, Temba Bavuma going unsold in three rounds. On the other end of the spectrum, 22-year-old three dimensional player Tristan Stubbs earned the highest bid of 9.2 million South African Rands in the auction.
Let’s take a look at the top five highest/Costliest bids at the SA T20 auction.
Players | Franchise | Base Price (in Rands) | Bidding Price (In Rands) | Bidding Price (INR) |
Tristan Stubbs | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | 175K | 9.2 Mn | Rs. 4,13,71,404.75 |
Rille Rossouw | Pretoria Capitals | 850K | 6.9 Mn | Rs. 3,10,28,358.87 |
Marco Jansen | Sunrisers Eastern Cape | 175K | 6.1 Mn | Rs. 2,74,45,516.50 |
Wayne Parnell | Pretoria Capitals | 175K | 5.6 Mn | Rs. 2,51,95,884.00 |
Donavan Ferreira | Johannesburg Super Kings | 175K | 5.5 Mn | Rs. 2,47,70,355.50 |
*1 USD = 17.67 South African Rand
Indian players not part of SA20 franchises bought by owners of IPL teams
The most surprising part of the whole auction was to see Indian players not in that auction even after all the six franchises being bought by owners of franchises that participate in the prestigious Indian Premier League (IPL). It is such a shame that some of the top-class Indian players who want to prove themselves by playing in leagues around the world or those who could earn a few nice paychecks are being robbed of the opportunity.
It is still quite uncertain as to what may be the real reason behind this decision, but it feels like that the Board of Control for Cricket Council in India (BCCI) are obstinate and obnoxious in their decision that no Indian player could be part of leagues apart from IPL.
A total of 314 players were offered to go under the hammer while 80 places were up for grabs for the six franchises. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from the SA20 Auction.
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Buttler and Roy expected to open for Paarl Royals
Paarl Royals, the sister franchise of IPL team Rajasthan Royals (RR) had already contracted Jos Buttler, Obed McCoy, David Miller and Corbin Bosch before the auction. Adding England’s Jason Roy means he could open the innings with Buttler.
The Royals began the day by picking up fast bowler Lungi Ngidi for ZAR 3.4 million besides making a good signing instantly thereafter, by picking up former top-ranked T20I spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for *ZAR 4.3 million. The big boundaries in Paarl will help him and left-arm finger spinner Bjorn Fortuin.
Paarl Royals Squad
David Miller (Captain), Corbin Bosch, Jos Buttler, Obed McCoy, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jason Roy, Dane Vilas, Bjorn Fortuin, Wihan Lubbe, Ferisco Adams, Imraan Manack, Evan Jones, Ramon Simmonds, Mitchell van Buuren, Eoin Morgan, Codi Yusuf
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