Apart from the Cape Cobras and Dolphins squads, there are a number of South Africans plying their trade in the Champions League. Gareth Stevens reports.

The Champions League features provincial champions from some of the strongest cricketing countries in the world. The sixth edition of the tournament, taking place in India, starts with the qualifiers on 13 September and concludes with the final in Bengaluru on 4 October. Players that qualified for more than one team were given a choice, and once again they all decided to represent their IPL franchise.

Both South African sides will lose a player in the form of Jacques Kallis and David Miller, but it’s not all bad news. The IPL team has to pay $150 000 as compensation for each player that decides to play for them instead of their home union.

There are five foreign teams that will feature South Africans in the T20 spectacle. The respective sides and players are:

Chennai Super Kings: Faf du Plessis
Kolkata Knight Riders: Jacques Kallis and Morne Morkel
Kings XI Punjab: David Miller
Mumbai Indians: Marchant de Lange
Barbados Tridents: Neil McKenzie

Patriotic South African support will definitely be with the nation’s two representatives, but if they are early casualties, there will almost certainly still be a South African interest all the way to the final. It is difficult to look past the local outfits when predicting a winner. However, if David Miller can recapture the form that helped Kings XI Punjub reach the final of the IPL and Faf du Plessis continues where he left off in Zimbabwe for the Chennai Super Kings, then they could be destined to meet in the showpiece match.

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