A host of renowned and emerging players are set to headline Season 4 of SA20, with their participation confirmed at the fourth annual player auction in Johannesburg on September 9. This year’s event promises squad changes and high-stakes bidding, with at least 72 player slots up for grabs. The squad composition remains consistent, with the League maintaining its focus on providing opportunities for local talent on a global stage. Each team’s regular squad consists of 18 players, permitting a maximum of 7 overseas players and a minimum of 11 South African players. In Season 4, teams can again sign one Wildcard player, who can be either South African or overseas, and their League fee does not count towards the salary cap. Before the auction, franchises can retain or pre-sign up to 6 players, with a maximum of 3 overseas and 3 South African players. This year features the largest salary cap in the competition’s history, with each of the six franchises having R41-million to assemble their squads. The salary cap has steadily increased from R34-million in Season 1, making it the highest franchise T20 League salary cap outside of India. A new strategic element in this year’s auction is the introduction of the Right to Match (RTM) Cards. An RTM Card allows a franchise to match a winning bid for a player who was part of their team in Season 3, thus retaining him for Season 4. The number of RTM cards each team can use depends on the number of South African pre-auction player retentions they have. “The SA20 Season 4 Player Auction is setting up to be the most exciting yet, with about 60% of player slots available for Franchises to fill. Mechanisms such as RTM cards, Wildcard players, and an increased salary cap are sure to create interesting situations for teams and will allow them to strategically select their squads. We have seen some life-changing transactions already in the past few years and the upcoming auction should see plenty more,” said Stephan Cook, Head of Cricket Operations SA20. The League’s commitment to developing young talent in South Africa remains unwavering. The Rookie Draft will be replaced, and teams are now required to sign a minimum of two Under-23 players in their final 19-player squads. The ever-popular Richard Madley, who has become synonymous with the Betway SA20 auction, will once again wield his gavel to oversee proceedings.