Cricket South Africa has opened its registration process to receive applications from South African and overseas players interested in participating in the SA T20 League.
The inaugural edition of the league will run during the last quarter of 2018, with the teams assembling from 9 November and the tournament running through to the grand final on 16 December.

Overseas players include both foreign overseas and returning Kolpak players who are interested in participating in the SA T20 League.

A foreign overseas player is defined as a player who holds only a non-South African passport and who is not eligible, under ICC regulations, to play for South Africa. He must either be a current or former international player who has played international cricket in the past 18 months or has a high profile with a proven track record in domestic T20 tournaments around the world.

A ‘returning Kolpak’ player is defined as a player who is eligible to play for South Africa under ICC eligibility rules but has declared his intention not to play for South Africa and is registered with Kolpak status in another country. A returning Kolpak player is, for the purpose of the league, classified as an overseas player.

A South African player is one who is eligible and available to play for South Africa and is also currently contracted either at national, franchise or senior provincial level in South Africa.

Players should be available from 9 November 2018 until 17 December 2018.

The CSA board has unanimously approved the following rules and regulations for the competition:

– There will be six competing teams and a total of 32 matches on a home and away basis
– Each team will have 16 players
– Each team will have a minimum of three and a maximum of four overseas players. Overseas players are defined either as foreign overseas or returning Kolpak players
– The six venues will be decided by a bid process open to all ICC accredited CSA members that will include an independent analysis by an appropriate consultancy firm. No venue will host more than one team and players will be centrally contracted by the league.

‘The time is now right for us to register players who would like to participate in our league,’ commented CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe. ‘We will be seeking to secure the services of the foreign and South African marquee players who were recruited for the previous league on two-year contracts. In addition, subject to our international commitments, all the Standard Bank Proteas contracted players are expected to participate in most of the league.

‘Any unavailability of Standard Bank Proteas players only affects the first few days of the league when the Proteas will be involved in their limited-overs tour to Australia which finishes with the T20 match on 17 November.

‘I am also delighted to announce that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has accepted our invitation to make some of their senior administrators, who have extensive experience in running the Indian Premier League (IPL), available to assist with the smooth running of our tournament.

‘Their experience will be invaluable and will assist in ensuring that the league is one of international standing,’ concluded Moroe.

Interested players will need to register by going to the CSA website and accessing the registration process via the relevant SA T20 League registration link. Foreign overseas players will also need to submit a copy of their passports or similar identification as part of the process.

Players’ applications will then be vetted and, after acceptance by the league, will be notified to complete and submit an Agreement to Enter the Draft (AED) on the same link, which will be a binding agreement to enter the draft.

The following information is required to complete the AED process:

– The periods for which the player is available
– Notification of any existing playing obligations or contracts that impact his availability period during the tournament period
– Any reserve price the player may wish to set for the draft (only applicable to overseas players)
– A high-resolution head and shoulders photograph

In the case of a South African player, he will need to confirm whether he currently is a national, franchise or senior provincial contracted player in South Africa and provide a high-resolution head and shoulders photograph.

The closing date for players to register is 2 October and the player draft will take place on 17 October.

Photo: Anesh Debiky/BackpagePix