List of SA20 League 2026 Retained, Pre-Signed and Wildcard Players of All Six Teams

SA20 Retained and Pre-Signed Players List

On July 18, the window for retaining players in the SA20 League officially shut. Teams were allowed a maximum of six retained or pre-signed players ahead of the SA20 2025 Player Auction that is scheduled for September 9. Also, note that teams can also sign wildcard players. According to the rules, the wildcard player can be someone who was part of the team’s squad the previous season, and that player’s salary won't count towards the salary cap. Below is every team’s retained and pre-signed players list alongside the wildcard picks that have been announced so far.

MI Cape Town

We begin by spotlighting MI Cape Town (MICT), the league's defending champions. The Cape Town franchise, owned by the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians owners Reliance Industries, was crowned champions, beating the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final.

The MI Cape Town has retained a total of 5 players ahead of the auction from their previous squad. These players include George Linde, Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Corbin Bosch, and Ryan Rickelton. The latter two were also picked by the Mumbai Indians franchise for the IPL 2025 season after they impressed for MI Cape Town.

The Cape Town franchise has also signed Nicholas Pooran as a pre-signed player ahead of the auction and has retained Kagiso Rabada as the wildcard pick. Pooran is part of the global MI family, playing for the MI Emirates, MI New York, etc. Meanwhile, they have picked Kagiso Rabada as the wildcard pick. He took 12 wickets in 8 matches in SA20 2025.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

The Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) were looking to complete a three-peat as they reached the SA20 2025 final. The Aiden Markram-led side had previously won the tournament’s first two teams in 2023 and 2024. But they lost to MI Cape Town in the 2025 final.

The Sunriser Hyderabad’s (SRH) sister team shocked everyone as they decided to let go of their captain Markram. The Eastern Cape retained only Tristan Stubbs from their last season’s squad as he scored 232 runs in the SA20 2025. Meanwhile, they have used the wildcard for Marco Jansen, the South African left-arm pacer. He was in great form last season as he scored 204 runs and also took 19 wickets for the Eastern Cape.

Other than that, they have pre-signed three overseas players in the form of Jonny Bairstow, Adam Milne from New Zealand, and Allah Ghazanfar from Afghanistan. 

Paarl Royals

The next team in our list is the Rajasthan Royals’ sister team, Paarl Royals (PR). The Royals finished in 2nd position in the league table but lost to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the qualifier 2 match to bow out of the tournament.

They have retained three players, including captain David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin, and Lhuan-dre-Pretorius, who was also signed by the Rajasthan Royals as an injury replacement during the IPL 2025 season but didn't get to make his debut. Lhuan scored 397 runs with a strike rate of 166.81 in SA20 2025 at the age of 18.

Meanwhile, they have picked Rubin Hermann as the wildcard pick from their last season's squad. He scored 333 runs in 9 innings last season. They have also pre-signed Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza and Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman.

Joburg Super Kings

The Joburg Super Kings (JSK) have also made significant changes in the squad for the next season. The Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) sister team finished the league stage at fourth place but lost to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the eliminator.

They have only retained captain Faf du Plessis, who scored 286 runs last season, and have kept Donovan Ferreira as the wildcard pick for next season. He is an all-rounder who took 8 wickets and scored 164 runs last season.

Other than that, they have signed two Englishmen, James Vince and Richard Gleeson, alongside the West Indies all-rounder Akeal Hosein.

Pretoria Capitals

The next team in the list is the Delhi Capitals’ sister team, the Pretoria Capitals (PC). They finished the 2025 season at number five in the league table. They won only 2 matches out of 10 league stage matches.

The Capitals, though, have done fairly little business before the SA20 2026 Players Auction on September 9. The Capitals have not retained any player but picked former West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell as the wildcard pick. He is mostly seen representing the KKR franchises around the world. 

But since the SA20 and the ILT20 won't overlap for much duration, this has allowed Russell to play in the SA20 for the first time. The Pretoria Capitals have also pre-signed Will Jacks and Sherfane Rutherford ahead of the 2026 season. 

Durban Super Giants

As the sixth franchise in the league, the Durban Super Giants (DSG) are connected to the IPL team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Their previous season was disappointing, as they ended up at the bottom of the points table with just 2 victories throughout the tournament.

They have only retained Noor Ahmad, who picked 13 wickets in the SA20 2025 season, and have also picked South African hard-hitting wicketkeeper batter Heinrich Klaasen as the wildcard pick. Although he didn't have a great season according to his standards, the franchise has still backed him for the new season.

Furthermore, the Durban Super Giants have signed England T20I skipper Jos Buttler and seasoned West Indies player Sunil Narine.

SA20 2026

The auction for the SA20 2026 Player Draft is scheduled for September 9. The SA20 2026 League is slated to commence on December 26, coinciding with Boxing Day. There will be 30 league phase matches between December 26, 2025, and January 19, 2026. The playoffs will be played between 21-25 January, with the final match scheduled on 25 January.