The brand new SA20 League of South Africa started earlier this week with a match between MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals at Newlands. This league aims to revive the fan following of cricket in the South African region. Cricket South Africa (CSA) has made a lot of efforts to start their own profitable T20 league, but their previous experiments failed.
Now, with the support of six top IPL franchise owners, the South African cricket governing body has launched another T20 league, named SA20. This tournament consists of six teams, namely Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and SunRisers Eastern Cape.
The names of the six teams would have made it clear that all of them are owned by franchise owners who also have a team in the IPL. However, since this is an overseas league, the Indian players do not have permission to participate. Interestingly, none of the retired Indian cricketers are a part of it as well.
However, fans might not have noticed that there are a couple of Indian origin South African stars who are playing in this league. Here’s a list of those two names:
1. Keshav Maharaj is playing for Durban’s Super Giants in SA20 League
Keshav Maharaj is one of the top spin bowlers in South African cricket at the moment. The left-arm spinner has made a name for himself with his accuracy and consistency. He has also got the responsibility of captaining South Africa. Maharaj’s forefathers were from Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He plays for Durban’s Super Giants in the South African league.
2. Prenelan Subrayen
Prenelan Subrayen is another Indian origin cricketer who plays for the South African team. Subrayen is a 29-year-old spin-bowling all-rounder. He played for South Africa at the U-19 level. Durban’s Super Giants signed him for the inaugural SA20 season.
