Sunrisers Eastern Cape, which is the sister franchise of Sunrisers Hyderabad, was the only team that had gone into the SAT20 league auction with only one player signed ahead of the auction, and the player that they had signed pre-auction was their IPL star Aiden Markram.
The Sunrisers then had a bit of a mixed start as the auction got underway yesterday. Although they had a lot of money to spend, they spent 15 million Rand on their first two signings. Sunrisers Eastern Cape management seemed to have decided that they had to get two of South Africa’s emerging superstars, Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs, at any cost.
They had to fight the bidding battle with MI Capetown for both these players because these are the two young South African players who were scouted by Mumbai Indians originally, even though Marco Jansen is currently contracted to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
After the Sunrisers Eastern Cape managed to sign Tristan Stubbs for a tad more than 9 million Rand and Marco Jansen for 6 million Rand, they were not left with a lot of money in the purse to bid for all the overseas stars they wanted.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape made a lot of utility signings
Most of the signings that the Sunrisers made towards the end of the auction were utility signings and not superstar signings. Some of the overseas names that Sunrisers signed can be game changers, but they have not quite got their opportunities in the big leagues yet to show the world what they can do.
Jordan Cox is only starting to come through the ranks in England now and has made it to the national team for the Pakistan tour. Someone like Tom Abell has put on many match-winning performances in the English domestic circuit but didn’t get a game in the IPL this year for Punjab Kings and Brydon Carse is also a similar player who is relatively unknown outside England.
The squad I missed during the press conference but a squad that should not be overlooked. If the Sunrisers Eastern Cape come good, they'll be almost unstoppable #SA20Auction pic.twitter.com/gtDhbCS9nN
— Leighton Koopman (@Leighton_K) September 19, 2022
Some of the local signings made by Sunrisers, the likes of Sisanda Magala and Jon Jon Smuts, are also not very famous names but can be very effective signings, as they can contribute in all three departments of the game.
