CSA have confirmed that the T20 Global League has been postponed.

The tournament was due to commence on 3 November.

The official statement from CSA was released on Tuesday afternoon:

Following a CSA and T20 Global League board meeting today and in consultation with franchise owners, the inaugural T20 Global League has been postponed to November 2018.

‘We have not come to this decision lightly,’ commented CSA Acting CEO, Thabang Moroe.

‘Having discussed it with all our stakeholders including the franchise owners, we believe that the interest of the league should be our first priority. We have re-assessed our strategy and believe that postponing the first edition of the T20 Global League to next year will serve us well.

‘We will regroup and come back stronger and better. At this time, we also wish to thank all the players, sponsors, broadcast partners, SACA (South African Cricketers Association) and FICA (Federation of International Cricketers) who have committed to the project. We appreciate the continued support of the individuals and organizations who have believed in this tournament,’ added Moroe.

The Chief Executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association, Tony Irish, said: We’ll be looking at all implications of this for players including what compensation should be paid to them. We are concerned and disappointed.’

The franchise owners are in support of the decision.

‘Having discussed it with Mr. Moroe and Mr. Nenzani, we have arrived at a unanimous decision to defer the inaugural edition to next year. We believe it is in the best interest of the tournament to do so,’ said Osman Osman, from the Pretoria Mavericks.

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After the resignation of ex-CEO Haroon Lorgat in September, interim CSA CEO Thabang Moroe told reporters that CSA was facing a $25-million loss to run the first edition of the tournament, but confirmed that the tournament will continue as planned.

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Irrespective of CSA’s struggle to pin down a broadcast deal, the anonymous owner revealed that ‘much bigger challenges’ arose when Lorgat departed.

‘When you know that something is not right then you should not do it. We are half-prepared and it will be a bigger disaster if we go this way,’ the owner told espncrininfo.com

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Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images