Within a short period, South Africa’s SA20 is already among the most popular T20 leagues. The league has been successful in bringing some of the best T20 superstars in South Africa.
But the league has also been upbeat while providing enough opportunities to younger players. We have seen some local and overseas young players making their mark in the South African T20 league.
On that note, here are the five youngest players to feature in SA20 history.
5. Dewald Brevis | 19 Years and 256 Days
Perhaps the next big thing in South African cricket, Dewald Brevis was the youngest player in the inaugural SA20 season. He was 19 years and 256 days old when he featured in the league’s first-ever match.
Brevis turned up for his IPL team’s sister franchise, MI Cape Town (MICT), against Paarl Royals on January 10, 2023. And he made an instant impact.
Brevis scored an unbeaten 70 from 41 balls while helping MICT chase down 143 in 16 overs. He struck at a rate of 170.73, hitting 4 fours and 5 sixes.
4. Noor Ahmad | 19 Years and 17 Days
The second SA20 season gave us the fourth-youngest player in the league. When Noor Ahmad was still in his teens, he already made his presence in a bunch of T20 leagues.
Following in the footsteps of his fellow Afghan cricketers, Ahmad started with the BBL, then PSL, and then IPL, where he made his mark. After an impressive outing in IPL 2023, the left-arm wrist spinner landed a deal from Durban’s Super Giants for SA20 2024.
He made his debut against Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the age of 19 years and 256 days on January 20, 2024. But Ahmad couldn’t do much of note with the ball, leaking 39 runs in his four overs.
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3. Steve Stolk | 18 Years and 335 Days
On January 10, 2025, Steve Stolk became the first-ever under-19 age player to feature in SA20. The young South African made his debut for Pretoria Capitals against Durban’s Super Giants.
It was a disappointing debut for Stolk, as he couldn’t help the Capitals win the match. He came to bat at No. 8, outside of his usual opening slot, when the Capitals needed 15 off eight balls.
Stolk faced four of those deliveries, including the last ball. But he couldn’t make contact with the ball, getting a dot, bye, and two leg byes. Regardless of the result, Stolk became the third-youngest player in SA20 at 18 years and 335 days.
2. Lhuan-dre Pretorius | 18 Years and 290 Days
A day after Stolk made his debut, two of his under-19 mates received their maiden caps. One of them was Lhuan-dre Pretorius.
The left-hand opener got off the mark in SA20 2025 in some style. Playing for Paarl Royals, Pretorius blew away the 176-run target set by defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape with his fiery knock.
He slammed a 51-ball 97 at a strike rate of 190.19, including 10 fours and 6 sixes. Pretorius fell short of the century mark by three runs, but what a powerful debut he had at 18 years and 290 days.
A year earlier, the left-hand batter had a remarkable outing for South Africa in the Under-19 World Cup. He netted 287 runs in six innings, including three fifties.
1. Kwena Maphaka | 18 Years and 278 Days
Kwena Maphaka was the other player to make his SA20 debut alongside Pretorius. In Maphaka’s case, though, he was 12 days younger than Pretorius.
So as he set foot on the field at the age of 18 years and 278 days, Maphaka became the youngest player in SA20. Fresh off his debuts across three international formats, the Royals decided to blood Maphaka in their season opener.
And the young left-arm pacer didn’t disappoint either. He wrapped up his debut spell with the wickets of Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen in the 20th over.
Maphaka’s outing was a bit expensive, conceding 35 runs in his four overs. But his late strikes proved crucial, as the Eastern Cape didn’t go above 180. And then Pretorius took the matter into his hands to seal a memorable debut for both of them.
Before getting into SA20, Maphaka made heads turn with his impressive performance in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup. He ended up as the leading wicket-taker for South Africa, with 21 scalps in six innings.
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