Faf surrenders crown as Super Kings seek new flavour for SA20

Faf du Plessis, Wiaan Mulder and Nandre Burger will all be in the hat at October’s mini SA20 auction after being released by the Joburg Super Kings (JSK) ahead of season 5.

The Super Kings, who named Albie Morkel as head coach to replace Stephen Fleming, have the most slots available on their roster — seven — one of which is their wildcard spot, with the remaining six to be picked at the auction.

Du Plessis’s absence from the list of retained and pre-signed players announced on Wednesday might be an indication of a new direction for the franchise, which has mostly disappointed since the advent of the tournament.

Fleming stepped away in July, signalling a major reset for a franchise that has been the most dominant in the Indian Premier League (IPL) — appearing in 10 finals and winning five — but whose affiliates in Joburg and Texas (in Major League Cricket, or MLC) are nowhere near as decorated as the primary team in Chennai.

Du Plessis has been a key figure in the franchise’s three teams and captained Joburg through the first four seasons of the SA20. He is JSK’s leading run-scorer and one of only four players who have made a hundred in the tournament.

Mulder and Burger were two of the most expensive signings at last year’s mega-auction, with JSK paying R9m for the former and R6.3m for the left-arm seamer. Neither made the kind of impression those prices warranted with Mulder scoring 137 runs and taking nine wickets, while Burger played seven games and took seven wickets.

Former West Indies captain Jason Holder was the big pre-signing for JSK. The 34-year-old spent the inaugural SA20 season with Durban Super Giants and was recently an influential figure in the LA Knight Riders triumph in this year’s MLC tournament.

With seven spots available, a new coach at the helm and possibly a new captain, JSK are certainly signalling they’re taking a different route they will hope ends in them at least making it to the final of the SA20 for the first time.

Besides Du Plessis’s absence, the biggest name in this year’s tournament is Mitchell Marsh, who is forgoing the Big Bash League (BBL) in his home country to represent three-time champions the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. While no longer a bowler, the 34-year-old is one of the most destructive hitters in the shortest format, particularly at the top of the order.

He formed a devastating opening partnership with Aiden Markram at Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, something that franchise inexplicably broke up this year. Mitchell’s presence certainly underscores the growing fears in Australia about the SA20’s ability to attract that country’s big names at a time of vociferous debate about whether BBL franchises should become privately owned.

Another Australian, Matthew Short, who was the BBL player of the year in 2023 and has played 23 ODIs and 24 T20 Internationals, signed with the Pretoria Capitals.

The Sunrisers also released Beyers Swanepoel, who’d only played for them seven times in two seasons and whose name will be of interest to the four teams with spots available on their rosters.

Swanepoel attracted unwanted publicity after he left the ground before the end of the domestic One-Day Cup final last season to catch a flight to England. His team, the Lions, lost that match and the union later fired the 28-year-old. He was subsequently signed by the Northerns Titans ― who ironically beat the Lions in that final.

Another notable signing for season 5 of the SA20, which starts on January 17, sees the return of Joe Root to the Paarl Royals. Root, who will captain England’s Test side against the Proteas in the three-match series in December/January, was a popular and effective part of the Royals team which qualified for the playoffs in 2025 and featured Lhuan-dre Pretorius as a rookie.

Other big name English players who will feature in the competition include Will Jacks at MI Cape Town; Phil Salt, who returns to the Pretoria Capitals; and Sam Curran, who will join Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone at the Super Giants.

The auction for the 19 available spots will take place on October 7.