SA20: Mitchell Marsh joins Sunrisers, Sam Curran heads to Super Giants
Australia’s T20 skipper Mitchell Marsh is set to make his SA20 debut for the three-time champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, while England all-rounder Sam Curran will don the Durban’s Super Giants jersey after moving from MI Cape Town, as the six SA20 franchises secured their core squads ahead of the Season 5 auction on October 7.
Marsh will join Quinton de Kock, Matthew Breetzke, Jordan Hermann and captain Tristan Stubbs in a strong batting line-up at Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC), while Curran, who represented MI Cape Town in the first two seasons, will team up with his England teammate Jos Buttler.
Joe Root, who returned as England’s Test captain and formed a formidable opening partnership with young Lhuan-dre Pretorius for the Paarl Royals a couple of seasons ago, will return to the familiar surroundings of Boland Park for the upcoming season of the T20 tournament. Runners-up Pretoria Capitals have received a major boost to their top order with the additions of Phil Salt and Australian international Matt Short.
Salt, who previously represented the Capitals, will reunite with Short at the top of the order. The duo is expected to add more firepower to a batting line-up featuring Dewald Brevis, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell and last season’s breakout star, Connor Esterhuizen.
England all-rounder Will Jacks, who had three fruitful seasons with the Capitals, has moved to MI Cape Town to complete the trio of MI franchises, having previously represented the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and currently playing for the MI London setup in The Hundred.
Meanwhile, Durban’s Super Giants and Paarl Royals are the only two teams to have completed their 19-player squads before the auction, with 19 slots still available across the remaining four teams.
SA20 League Commissioner and former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith said the SA20’s ability to attract leading stars such as Marsh, Curran and Salt was a sign of the growing stature of the league.
