Tuesday’s player draft for the 2019 edition of the Mzansi Super League has started.

The first six players picked during the first round of the draft, hosted in Soweto, will be paid R1 million each.

Each franchise will spend R5.325m at the draft, for a total of R31.95m. The money spent by the six teams will be paid by Cricket South Africa.

Last month, the six franchises announced the players retained for the second edition of the tournament.

The Durban Heat, meanwhile, have appointed former Proteas batsman Gary Kirsten head coach. West Indian Donovan Miller has succeeded Proteas interim team director Enoch Nkwe as head coach of the Jozi Stars.

‘The MSL is now an established global brand that is taking its place at the head table alongside the other global T20 events,’ said CSA chief executive officer Thabang Moroe in August.

‘We have drawn interest from around the world with players applying from virtually all the top-tier international countries.

‘To this can be added our Proteas, past and present, who will add further lustre to our tournament. This will certainly be the biggest T20 event we have hosted since the inaugural T20 World Cup that was staged here in 2007 and became the forerunner of all the global T20 events that followed.

‘We look forward to adding yet another highlight to our home international season that will be followed by the incoming tours by England and Australia. All our stakeholders can look forward to an exciting 2019-20 summer.’

The Stars are the defending champions, after beating the Blitz in last year’s inaugural final at Newlands.

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