The SA20, also known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa, organised by Cricket South Africa (CSA) and first contested during the 2023 season. It is contested by six teams based in cities around the country. Sunrisers Eastern Cape have won three of the first four editions of the tournament, with MI Cape Town winning the third season. The primary sponsor is Betway, sponsoring the league since it launched.
History Cricket South Africa established the franchise T20 Global League in 2017. The inaugural season was deferred by a year due to the lack of a broadcast deal and title sponsor and in June 2018 was replaced by the Mzansi Super League, a league featuring six CSA-owned teams. It did not become a huge success. The MSL ran for only two seasons, the 2020 and 2021 editions being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SA20 was established by CSA in 2022 through a newly formed entity, Africa Cricket Development (Pty) Limited (ACD). CSA is the majority stakeholder in ACD with a 50% share, while broadcaster SuperSport has a 30% share and former Indian Premier League (IPL) Chief Operating Officer Sundar Raman, the remaining 20%. All six of the teams were bought by franchises from the IPL. In July 2022, CSA announced that the One Day International series against Australia due to be played in January 2023 would be cancelled in order for SA20 to go ahead.
In August 2022, Graeme Smith was announced as the commissioner for the tournament. Later in the month, the marquee players for the first season were announced.
In December 2023 Cricket South Africa announced that it would send a makeshift Test team, comprising players with little or no Test cricket experience, to its scheduled two-Test tour of New Zealand in February 2024, to allow its best players to remain in South Africa to compete in the SA20. The decision was widely criticised. In January 2025, Cricket South Africa announced the windows for the competition for 2026, 2027, and 2028.
Organisation The six teams play each other twice in the group stages of the competition before the top four teams move to the playoffs stage.
Teams acquire players through an auction as opposed to a draft, making it the third cricket league in the world after the Indian Premier League and International League T20 to do so. Each team purchases a squad of 17 players, with the opportunity of signing up to five players prior to the auction: three international players; one South African international player; and one uncapped South African player.
Prize money Cricket South Africa increased the prize money for the SA20 in 2024 to a total of $890,000 . The prize money is split between the teams as follows:
R16,250,000– To the runner up R32,500,000 – To the champion of the season
The total prize money in the SA20 is R70 million.
Trophy The trophy for the Betway T20 was unveiled in January 2023. The 24-carat gold and silver-plated trophy was designed and made by British silverware manufacturers Thomas Lyte. It features six handles, representing league's six founding franchises, with the tournament's logo engraved on the front of the trophy.
Teams The six teams are all owned by existing Indian Premier League franchise owners.
TeamCityHome groundOwnerCaptainCoach Durban's Super Giants Durban Kingsmead Cricket Ground RPSG Group Aiden Markram Joburg Super Kings Johannesburg Wanderers Stadium Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited Faf du Plessis MI Cape Town Cape Town Newlands Cricket Ground Reliance Industries Rashid Khan Paarl Royals Paarl Boland Park Manoj Badale David Miller Pretoria Capitals Pretoria Centurion Park JSW Sports Keshav Maharaj Sunrisers Eastern Cape Gqeberha St George's Park Cricket Ground Sun Group Tristan Stubbs
Tournament season and results Finals YearFinalFinal venuePlayer of the seasonWinnerResultRunner-up2023Sunrisers Eastern CapeSunrisers Eastern Cape won by 4 wicketsScorecardPretoria CapitalsWanderers Stadium, JohannesburgAiden Markram(SEC)2024Sunrisers Eastern CapeSunrisers Eastern Cape won by 89 runsScorecardDurban's Super GiantsNewlands Cricket Ground, Cape TownHeinrich Klaasen(DSG)2025MI Cape TownMI Cape Town won by 76 runsScorecardSunrisers Eastern CapeWanderers Stadium, JohannesburgMarco Jansen(SEC)2026Sunrisers Eastern CapeSunrisers Eastern Cape won by 6 wicketsScorecardPretoria CapitalsNewlands Cricket Ground, Cape TownQuinton de Kock(SEC)
Number of titles Team Seasons won Seasons runner-up No. of playoffs played No. of seasons played Sunrisers Eastern Cape 3 (2023, 2024, 2026) 1 (2025) 4 4 MI Cape Town 1 (2025) 1 4 Pretoria Capitals 2 (2023, 2026) 2 4 Durban's Super Giants 1 (2024) 1 4 Joburg Super Kings 4 4 Paarl Royals 3 4
Team performances Season20232024 20252026 Durban's Super Giants 5th RU 6th5th Joburg Super Kings SF3rd4th4th MI Cape Town 6th 6th C6th Paarl RoyalsSF4th3rd3rd Pretoria Capitals RU 5th 5th RU C C RU C C: Champions RU: Runner-up 3rd: Team won the 3rd place playoff 4th: Team lost the 3rd place playoff SF: Team qualified for the semi-final of the competition
Position of teams in SA20
Year1st 2nd 3rd4th5th6th2023PC (R)JSKSEC (C)PRDSGMICT2024SEC (C)DSG (R)PRJSKPC MICT2025MICT (C)PRSEC (R)JSKPCDSG2026 SEC (C) PC (R) PR JSKDSGMICT indicates qualified for playoffs (C) = Eventual champion; (R) = Runner-up
All time standings
+Source: ESPNcricinfo (Last updated: 8 February 2025)TeamAppearancesBest resultStatisticsTotalFirstLatestPlayedWonLost NRWin%Sunrisers Eastern Cape 4 2023 2026 (2023, 2024, 2026) 36 22 13 0 0 1 62.85MI Cape Town 4 2023 2026 (2025) 32 15 16 0 0 1 48.38Pretoria Capitals 4 2023 2026 (2023, 2026) 32 13 16 0 0 3 44.82Durban's Super Giants 4 2023 2026 (2024) 33 14 16 0 0 3 46.66Paarl Royals 4 2023 2026 (2024, 2026) 34 16 17 0 0 1 48.48Joburg Super Kings 4 2023 2026 (2024) 33 14 16 0 0 3 46.66
Records and statistics
Batting recordsMost runsRyan Rickelton1,349Highest scoreShai Hope118* vs Durban's Super GiantsBowling recordsMost wickets Ottniel Baartman61 FieldingMost dismissals (wicket-keeper)Tristan Stubbs42Most catches (fielder)David MillerMarco JansenAiden Markram18 Team recordsHighest totalDurban's Super Giants 254/4 (20) vs Pretoria CapitalsLowest totalPaarl Royals49 (13.3) vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Broadcasting , Betway SA20 and Sky Sports have a five-year contract to broadcast the T20 cricket league.
Country Channels Year Sub-saharan Africa SuperSport 2023–present Australia Fox Sports 2025–present Brunei Willow TV 2025–present Cambodia Canada Indonesia Laos Malaysia MENA Mexico Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste USA Vietnam Pan-Europe (exc. UK-IRE) Triller TV 2025–present Ireland Sky Sports 2023–present United Kingdom Indian subcontinent Star Sports2023–present JioHotstar PakistanGeo Super 2025–presentmytvTapmad
References
External links