SA20 has geared up for the season five player auction. This is a mini-auction after last year’s mega one.
Teams have a few slots to fill in ahead of the 2027 season. So they will look to secure the best players available in the auction pool.
That said, here’s all you need to know about the SA20 season five auction.
So when is the SA20 2027 auction scheduled?
The SA20 season five auction will take place on October 7, 2026, in Johannesburg. The auction will start at 5 PM local time (8:30 PM IST).
Okay, how many players have registered for the SA20 2027 auction?
A total of 156 players have put their names in the auction pool. 95 of those are South African players, while the other 61 are overseas. Among the overseas, England headline the list with 31 players.
Here’s a breakdown of players by country:
| Country | Players Shortlisted |
|---|---|
| South Africa | 95 |
| England | 31 |
| West Indies | 9 |
| Sri Lanka | 6 |
| Afghanistan | 5 |
| Zimbabwe | 3 |
| New Zealand | 2 |
| USA | 2 |
| Bangladesh | 1 |
| Namibia | 1 |
| Scotland | 1 |
How many players have teams retained and pre-signed?
Each team had the opportunity to retain or pre-sign players before the auction.
Durban’s Super Giants and Paarl Royals have completed their squads through retentions and pre-signings. So they will sit this one out.
The other four teams, meanwhile, will look to fill 19 slots combined. Joburg Super Kings and MI Cape Town (six each) have the joint-most spots to fill, followed by Pretoria Capitals’ five and Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s two.
Teams can also choose a wildcard player, whose salary falls outside the total auction purse. The wildcard player can be South African or overseas. Only the Super Kings haven’t yet signed a wildcard player.
Here are each SA20 team’s retention, pre-signed, and wildcard picks:
Durban’s Super Giants (DSG)
Retained players: Aiden Markram (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Eathan Bosch, Jos Buttler (England), Gerald Coetzee, Devon Conway (New Zealand), Tony de Zorzi, Daryn Dupavillon, Simon Harmer, Evan Jones, Liam Livingstone (England), Kwena Maphaka (U23), Sunil Narine (West Indies), Andile Simelane (U23), Kyle Simmonds, Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
Pre-signings: Sam Curran (England)
Wildcard: Heinrich Klaasen
Joburg Super Kings (JSK)
Retained players: Jarren Bacher, Matthew de Villiers, Leus du Plooy, Donovan Ferreira, Dian Forrester, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Duan Jansen, Rilee Rossouw, Janco Smit, Prenelan Subrayen, James Vince (England)
Pre-signings: Jason Holder (West Indies)
Wildcard: None
MI Cape Town (MICT)
Retained players: Corbin Bosch, Reeza Hendricks, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Thomas Kaber, George Linde, Tristan Luus (U23), Dane Piedt, Nicholas Pooran (West Indies), Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tiaan van Vuuren
Pre-signings: Will Jacks (England)
Wildcard: Kagiso Rabada
Paarl Royals (PR)
Retained players: Ottneil Baartman, JJ Basson (U23), Bjorn Fortuin, Rubin Hermann, Dan Lawrence (England), Keagan Lion-Cachet, David Miller (c), Nqobani Mokoena (U23), Gudakesh Motie (West Indies), Delano Potgieter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius (U23), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Thomas Rew (England), Asa Tribe (Jersey), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Kyle Verreynne, Hardus Viljoen
Pre-signings: Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan)
Wildcard: Joe Root
Pretoria Capitals (PC)
Retained players: Dewald Brevis, Connor Esterhuizen, Wihan Lubbe, Keshav Maharaj © , Bayanda Majola (U23), Lungi Ngidi, Bryce Parsons, Gideon Peters, Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Lizaad Williams, Codi Yusuf
Pre-signings: Phil Salt (England), Matthew Short (Australia)
Wildcard: Andre Russell (West Indies)
Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC)
Retained players: Matthew Breetzke, James Coles (England), Quinton de Kock, Lewis Gregory (England), Jordan Hermann, CJ King (U23), JP King, Patrick Kruger, Adam Milne (New Zealand), Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Lutho Sipamla, Tristan Stubbs, Mitchell van Buuren
Pre-signings: Mitchell Marsh (Australia), Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh)
Wildcard: Marco Jansen
Now, how many slots can each team fill?
Each SA20 team can fill a maximum of 18 slots in their squad in the auction. This, of course, includes the retention and pre-signed picks. The wildcard player doesn’t fall under the auction, though it rounds up the squad limit to 19.
Seven of the 18 slots can be overseas players, while two slots are mandatorily reserved for under-23 South African players.
Here are the available slots for each team in the SA20 2027 auction:
| Team | Total Slots Available | Overseas Slots Available |
|---|---|---|
| Durban’s Super Giants | 0 | 0 |
| Joburg Super Kings | 6 | 4 |
| MI Cape Town | 6 | 4 |
| Paarl Royals | 0 | 0 |
| Pretoria Capitals | 5 | 3 |
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape | 2 | 1 |
Alright, what’s the salary cap in the SA20 2027 auction?
The salary cap has gone up in the SA20 2027 auction. Franchises can spend R42 million to assemble their teams.
Of course, every team won’t go in with a full purse in the auction. With retention and pre-season signings, teams will have to fill the empty slots with the remaining amount.
Among them, the Super Kings join with a huge purse, while the Capitals have the lowest amount at their disposal.
Here’s how much each team can actually spend:
| Team | Purse Available |
|---|---|
| Joburg Super Kings | R20.6 million |
| MI Cape Town | R9.35 million |
| Pretoria Capitals: | R1.475 million |
| MI Cape Town | R3.6 million |
And finally, where to watch the SA20 2027 auction?
SuperSport will telecast the SA20 2027 auction in Sub-Saharan African countries.
Indian fans can rely on JioHotstar for all the live action, while Sky Sports will broadcast the auction in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Channel Island, Isle of Man and Gibraltar. In Australia, Fox Sports will broadcast all the action live.
And for the rest of the viewers, the auction will be live-streamed on SA20’s official YouTube channel.
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