ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BETWAY SA20 SEASON 5 PLAYER AUCTION
The build-up to Betway SA20 Season 5 Player Auction on Wednesday, 7 October 2026 starts here!
Teams have decided on their list of retained players and concluded their pre-signings for the landmark fifth edition of South Africa's premier T20 cricket league - confirmed to start on Sunday, 17 January 2027 with the Final on Sunday, 21 February 2027.
At the 2026 player auction, teams will have the chance to fill the gaps in their squad from the shortlist of players who registered their interest during an registration window. Squad sizes will again remain at 19 so, taking into consideration player recruitment already done and the fact that Durban's Super Giants and Paarl Royals have opted to complete their squad rosters already, 19 player slots will be available for auction across the remaining four teams.
Every player who enters the player auction will have a set reserve price. This is the lowest amount of money that they can be signed for. Of course, they could receive more money if a team wants to offer it... especially when a bidding war ensues!
THE AUCTION PROCESS
The Salary Cap
Each season teams are given a salary cap to spend on players. For Season 5, the salary cap is R42-million per team - making it the highest franchise T20 League salary cap outside of India.
Player slots
Each team has 19 player slots in their final squad, including a Wildcard (more on that later). Of the 18 players in the regular squad, teams can secure a maximum of 7 overseas players and a minimum of 11 South African players. The League’s commitment to the development of young talent in South Africa remains steadfast. As such, teams must sign a minimum of two Under-23 players in their final 19 player squads - Joburg Super Kings and MI Cape Town are the only teams of the four who will be active at the Auction who must sign at least one more Under-23 player.
What is an Under-23 player?
A South African player aged 23 or younger as of 16 January 2027 (the day before Season 5 gets underway). These players could have taken part in previous seasons of Betway SA20. Similarly, players who meet this definition will either have been retained or bought during the regular auction stage - there will not be a special draft.
What is a Wildcard?
Season 5 will again see teams being able to sign one Wildcard player to each squad. The Wildcard player can be a South African or overseas player, and their League fee falls outside of the salary cap. Five of the six teams have already confirmed their Season 5 Wildcards, namely: Heinrich Klaasen (Durban's Super Giants), Kagiso Rabada (MI Cape Town), Joe Root (Paarl Royals), Andre Russell (Pretoria Capitals) and Marco Jansen (Sunrisers Eastern Cape). This leaves only Joburg Super Kings to reveal their Wildcard for Season 5 on or before 30 December 2026.
The Season 5 Wildcards rso far are Heinrich Klaasen (Durban's Super Giants), Kagiso Rabada (MI Cape Town), Joe Root (Paarl Royals), Andre Russell (Pretoria Capitals) and Marco Jansen (Sunrisers Eastern Cape).
REMAINING PURSES
Each team started their Season 5 recruiting with R42-million, but having opted for different strategies regarding retained players and pre-signings, some have much more to spent at the Auction than others...
Joburg Super Kings: 6 available slots | R20.6-million remaining
MI Cape Town: 6 available slots | 9.35-million remaining
Pretoria Capitals: 5 available slots | 1.475-million remaining
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: 2 available slots | R3.6-million remaining
BE FIRST IN LINE TO GET SEASON 5 TICKETS
Register now for early access to Season 4 tickets.
