IPL to dominate South Africa T20 league, all six teams bought by Indian league owners as MI and CSK lead the way

The owners of Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals have bought the six franchises of the brand-new CSA T20 League.

Kavya Maran. (Photo: BCCI/IPL)

The six franchise owners for South Africa’s T20 League have been confirmed following a rigorous process over the past few months. The open bid process, managed by Deloitte Corporate Finance, attracted over 29 entities who expressed interest in owning a franchise worldwide. Over 10 venues were made available for interested bidders to own a franchise and all 10 of them received expressions of interest.

The six successful bidders who will be part of this significant chapter of South African cricket are:

Newlands, Cape Town – Reliance Industries Limited, owners of Mumbai Indians

Kingsmead, Durban – RPSG Sports Private Limited, owners of Lucknow Super Giants

St George’s Park, Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) --  Sun TV Network Limited, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad

Wanderers, Johannesburg – Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited, owners of Chennai Super Kings

Boland Park, Paarl – Royals Sports Group, owners of Rajasthan Royals

SuperSport Park, Pretoria – JSW Sports, co-owners of Delhi Capitals

All six successful bidders have extensive experience in operating franchises across multiple sports and deep cricketing expertise through their ownership in the world’s leading T20 tournament, the Indian Premier League.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Former #Proteas captain Graeme Smith has been appointed as Commissioner of South Africa's new T20 league.

Read more https://t.co/tL7wi8x8Ug#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/erJTS6Uj7B

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) July 19, 2022

Commenting on the selection process, the Commissioner for the new league, Graeme Smith said: “We are thrilled to welcome our new franchise owners to the South African League taking place in January and February 2023. This is truly an exciting time for South African cricket; the overwhelming interest shows that the country remains valued in the global cricketing eco-system.

“A robust bidding process was followed to select the final six owners, the decision was informed by a scorecard based on various criteria to ensure the utmost professionalism, independence, and objectivity to the process. I would like to thank Deloitte as our advisors for doing a thoroughly professional job in helping South African cricket find partners who add substantial value to our game. The strong sports background of the respective owners and the global brands they manage ensures that South African cricket and the broader industry will benefit from their expertise and resources, as they bring stability and experience to the League,” Smith was quoted as saying in a CSA statement.

Fans will have the opportunity to watch word class cricketers, catch a glimpse of the next generation and experience the action first-hand when the festival takes off early next year. They can also hope to see the likes of Kavya Maran, the team owner of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the stands in the new CSA T20 League as well.

It is believed that CSK, through parent company Chennai Super Kings Sports Limited, made the highest bid at an informal auction to buy the Johannesburg franchise. Mumbai Indians, owned by Reliance Industries, bought the Cape Town franchise, while the Sun TV Group, which owns Sunrisers, bought the Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) franchise. 

This new tournament is CSA's third attempt to start a sustainable franchise-based T20 league after the Global League T20 failed to take off in 2017 and the Mzansi Super League was scrapped because its broadcast rights could not be sold for three years.