BETWAY SA20 FORM LANDS RICKELTON IPL DEAL WITH MUMBAI INDIANS

Betway SA20’s growth within the global cricket landscape is starting to leave a major imprint judging by the recent IPL mega-auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Despite still in its infancy being just two years old, South Africa’s premier T20 competition is already serving as a major source of talent for IPL teams.

Fourteen South Africans were picked up at the auction across the two days of intense bidding in Jeddah. Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs were retained prior to the auction which lifts South Africa’s overall player contribution to IPL 2025 at 16.

The major feature of the auction showcased that IPL teams are no longer looking for only the established stars such as Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Aiden Markram, but also a group of burgeoning talents that were first spotted in Betway SA20.

MI Cape Town opener Ryan Rickelton headlines the list. His impressive run-scoring in Betway SA20 Season 2, where the dynamic opener finished as the top scorer, reaped significant rewards.

The 28-year-old left-hander was purchased by big brother Mumbai Indians for Rs 1 crore (R2.1 million).

“Definitely, that was the view that we took with Ryan,” said Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani in reference to monitoring Rickelton’s SA20 exploits.

“We also took Ryan to a development camp for our global players, two years ago to the UK, and Ryan scored a lot of runs there too, and then performed in SA20.

“That’s something we wanted: the continuity factor through to IPL and hopefully the other leagues as well.”

Rickelton will be hoping to repay the faith in shown in him with another bumper Betway SA20 in Season 3, which gets underway on January 9, 20015 when MI Cape Town head off to Gqeberha to face back-to-back champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape at St George’s Park.

Full list of South Africans sold at the IPL auction as well as those retained:

Heinrich Klaasen* (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – Rs 7.5 crore (R49.3 million)

Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans) – Rs 10.75 crore (R23 million)

Tristan Stubbs* (Delhi Capitals) – Rs 10 crore (R21.4 million)

David Miller (Lucknow Super Giants) – Rs 7.5 crore (R16 million)

Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings) – Rs 7 crore (R14.9 million)

Anrich Nortje (Kolkata Knight Riders) – Rs 6.5 crore (R13.9 million)

Quinton de Kock (Kolkata Knight Riders) – Rs 3.6 crore (R7.7 million)

Gerald Coetzee (Gujarat Titans) – Rs 2.4 crore (R5.1 million)

Faf du Plessis (Delhi Capitals) – Rs 2 crore (R4.2 million)

Aiden Markram (Lucknow Super Giants) – Rs 2 crore, R4.2 million)

Kwena Maphaka (Rajasthan Royals) – Rs 1.5 crore (R3.2 million)

Lungi Ngidi (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) – Rs 1 crore (R2.1 million)

Ryan Rickelton (Mumbai Indians) – Rs 1 crore (R2.1 million)

Matthew Breetzke (Lucknow Super Giants) – 75 lakh (R1.6 million)

Donovan Ferreira (Delhi Capitals) – 75 lakh (R1.6 million)

Lizaad Williams (Mumbai Indians) – 75 lakh (R1.6 million)

*retention