The SA20 League is Set for the First Auction, Scheduled To Take Place Next Month

SA20 2026 Auction Date, Place, Salary Cap and Wildcard

The SA20 2026 auction will be held in Johannesburg on September 9. Players had until August 18 to register, after which the full list of players participating in the auction will be released. Teams have already announced their retained player lists, including a maximum of three South African and overseas players each, after being allowed to retain a maximum of six players. The league also introduced a wildcard system for the upcoming season under which teams can sign a player outside the auction whose salary will not fall within the salary cap allocated to each franchise. This year, the SA20 league will feature the second-largest auction purse after the Indian Premier League (IPL). For the SA20 2026 season, each team has a salary cap of R41 million (20,19,95,643 Indian Rupees) available to spend on players. This increased budget is set to boost excitement among both fans and players. Apart from this, for the first time in the auction, every team will also have a Right to Match (RTM) card, and its number will be different for each team, which depends on the players they retained before the auction.

SA20 2026 Retained Players by Each Team 

Teams have announced their retained player lists, which include a maximum of three South African players and three overseas players, after being permitted to keep up to six players. Apart from this, all the teams also had the opportunity to retain an additional player in the team as a wild card entrant.

MI Cape Town: Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada (Wild card)

Paarl Royals: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb Ur Rahaman, Sikandar Raza, Rubin Hermann (Wild card)

Durban’s Super Giants: Sunil Narine, Noor Ahmed, Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen 

Joburg Super Kings: Faf du Plessis, James Vince, Akeal Hasein, Richard Gleeson, Dovovan Ferreira (Wild card)

Pretoria Capitals: Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell (Wild card)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Tristan Stubbs, Allah Ghazanfar, Adam Milne, Jonny Bairstow, Marco Jansen (Wild card)

SA20 2026 Remaining Team's Purses for the Auction 

However, every franchise has been given the permission to return some players before the auction, after which they will reach the auction with the remaining Purse amount, where they will work to build a strong team for the upcoming season of the SA20 League. After retaining the players, the amount of money each team has is as follows:

Pretoria Capitals

Pretoria Capitals retained only three players ahead of the auction for the next season of the SA20 League, due to which the team has the biggest purse left for the auction. After retaining the players, the team has a total of R32.5 million (about Rs 16.5 crore Indian Rupees) left, which will give them a chance to build a good and excellent team in the auction. The kind of strategy that Punjab Kings adopted before IPL 2025, Pretoria Capitals is seen doing something similar. However, they have retained brilliant T20 players like Andre Russell and Will Jacks in the team.

Durban’s Super Giants

Durban’s Super Giants retained four players ahead of the auction for the next season of the SA20 League, due to which the team also has a good purse left for the auction. After retaining the players, the team has a total of R29.5 million (about Rs 14.7 crore Indian Rupees) left, which will give them a chance to rebuild a good team in the auction. They have already strengthened the squad by retaining Sunil Narine, Josh Butler and Heinrich Klaasen.

Joburg Super Kings

Joburg Super Kings retained five players ahead of the auction for the next season of the SA20 League, and still, the team has a big purse left for the auction. After retaining the players, the team has a total of R21.5 million (about Rs 10.7 crore; Indian Rupees) left, which will give them a chance to rethink and build an excellent team in the auction. However, JSK has experienced players like Faf du Plessis, James Vince and Richard Gleeson in the squad.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape 

Sunrisers Eastern Cape retained five players ahead of the auction for the next season of the SA20 League, leaving the team with a decent purse for the auction. After retaining the players, the team has a total of R21.5 million (about Rs 10.7 crore Indian rupees) left, which will give them a chance to reform a good and excellent team in the auction. Two-time title winner, the SEC has retained top players such as Tristan Stubbs, Adam Milne, Jonny Bairstow and Marcus Jansen.

Paarl Royals 

Paarl Royals retained five players ahead of the auction for the next season of the SA20 League, due to which the team didn't have much purse for the auction. After retaining the players, the team has a total of R14.5 million (about Rs 7.22 crore Indian rupees) left, which will give them a chance to build a good team in the auction. Paarl Royals has retained both young and experienced players like Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, and Sikandar Raza.

MI Cape Town 

MI Cape Town retained a maximum of seven players ahead of the auction for the next season of the SA20 League, due to which the team has a minimum purse remaining for the auction as compared to other franchises. After retaining the players, the team has a total of R11.5 million (about Rs 5.73 crore Indian rupees) left. They will have to go to the auction with this amount and make a good team for themselves. Defending Champions MI Cape Town have returned the maximum number of seven players before the auction, which includes top T20 players like Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, and Nicholas Pooran.

Who can earn big in the SA20 auction?

There are many excellent players available in the SA20 league auction who can earn big, including local players from South Africa and overseas players from other countries, although almost all franchises have retained some excellent players. Despite that, the recent top performers will remain available for the upcoming auction. Aiden Markram, who has won the title twice and been runner-up once for Sunrisers Eastern Cape, will also be available in the auction. Which is capable of earning big money in the auction. Apart from him, Dewald Brevis is a name that has recently attracted everyone's attention by giving a stellar performance. In IPL 2025, he joined the Chennai Super Kings as a replacement, after which he showed excellent performance. Apart from this, he also scored a century and a half-century in the recent three-match T20 series against Australia, due to which the franchise will definitely be ready to pay a big amount for him in the auction. There is every possibility that many excellent overseas players can earn well in the auction. But going by his recent form, Dewald Brevis, a local player from South Africa, has every chance of getting the highest bid in the auction.