JOBURG SUPER KINGS CALL UP DE VILLIERS TO REPLACE KING

Joburg Super Kings have called up the in-form Matthew de Villiers for Betway SA20 Season 4 after the West Indies opener Brandon King was ruled out due to injury.

De Villiers forms part of a trio of new players, including Jarren Bacher, and Jorich van Schalkwyk, that have joined the Super Kings family.

But while De Villiers will be available for the entire season, Bacher and Van Schalkwyk are, however, only short-term replacements, coming in for English duo Reece Topley and James Vince respectively while they complete duties in other T20 leagues.

“We’re excited to welcome our new Lions – Matthew de Villiers, Jarren Bacher, and Jorich van Schalkwyk – to the Super Kings family,” read a JSK statement.

“De Villiers replaces King. Bacher comes in for Reece Topley until 31 December 2025. Van Schalkwyk steps in for James Vince until 5 January 2026.”

De Villiers’ call-up is well-deserved with the 25-year-old being in red-hot form. The former Wynberg Boys’ High School prodigy was the leading run-scorer in the recently completed CSA T20 Challenge with 394 runs at an average of 65.66 and strike-rate of 141.21.

It played a pivotal role in helping the Warriors, who De Villiers captained, to the domestic title.

Matthew de Villiers will be joined by Jarren Bacher and Jorich van Schalkwyk as replacement players in the Joburg Super Kings Season 4 squad.

De Villiers’ journey to Betway SA20 has been a rollercoaster with the talented batter wandering in the obscurity of club cricket still last season. He therefore credits MI Cape Town head coach Robin Peterson, who doubles as the Warriors tactician, for his development.

“Last year was a pinch-me moment. I’ve worked hard to get to this point … who knows where I would be if it wasn’t for Robbie? I would probably be banging 100s in club cricket in Cape Town,” he said.

De Villiers wears the No 17 shirt – the same as his childhood hero and namesake AB de Villiers.

“AB is definitely my role model,” he said. “His stats speak for themselves. I’ve started with ‘De Villiers 17’ and try to play a good brand of cricket.

“The time will come when I’ll create my own brand. For now, I just want to stay humble and keep working hard. It’s a long journey to the top.”

Joburg Super Kings open their Betway SA20 Season 4 campaign against Pretoria Capitals at Centurion on December 27.