Cricket South Africa announced the launch of new six-team franchise-based T20 tournament.

Cricket In partnership with SuperSport, South Africa has announced the establishment of a brand new franchise-based T20 tournament. The first edition of the competition is set to take place in January 2023, immediately following South Africa’s tour of Australia. The event would be held in January for future iterations.

According to a press release from the CSA, the league will include international players as well, with a player public auction to be held at a later date. Each team will be able to have up to four foreign players in its starting XI.

The event will be managed by a new company formed by CSA and SuperSport. “The company has a very appealing participant salary bill per group that can compete with other leagues worldwide outside of the IPL,” according to the press release.

The tournament will feature six privately-owned teams who will play each other twice in a round-robin format before the top three teams advance to the playoffs. Over the course of three to four weeks, 33 matches are expected to be played.

“We’re pleased by the establishment of something this new and exciting, which also provides the opportunity for personal investment in the franchisees,” CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki said. “CSA has already piqued the interest of a number of potential local and international traders.”

Marc Jury, the CEO of SuperSport, stated, “We’re thrilled to spend money on a product that has the potential to transform the face of South African cricket.” “There’s a gap in the calendar early in the year, so the timing is ideal.” The competition is expected to increase funding for cricket in South Africa, allowing the sport to grow throughout the country.

As CSA’s domestic broadcast partner, SuperSport’s support for the league is critical to its success. CSA was unable to start the Global T20 League in 2017 due to their lack of support and was forced to abandon plans for a franchise T20 league.

SuperSport maintained that they were entitled to broadcast the Global T20 League because of their contractual commitment to broadcast all cricket played in South Africa, but the Cricket South Africa (CSA) disagreed, claiming that the event was new business. They were unable to find another broadcaster, and as a result, the event was never held.

The Mzansi Super League was then created by the CSA in 2018, with the SABC receiving the broadcast rights for a little cost. The MSL consisted of eight clubs and lasted two years, with the CSA covering the whole cost of over R100 million every edition. It was not shown in 2020, 2021, or 2022, ostensibly because of the Covid-19 epidemic, but also due to CSA’s financial constraints. They may now start a T20 competition thanks to SuperSport’s investment.

The tournament is anticipated to increase the amount of money invested in cricket in South Africa, allowing the sport to expand throughout the country.