Reliance Industries Ltd-owned MI Cape Town Thursday became the first among the six Cricket South Africa T20 League franchises to announce the signing of 5 players, ahead of the inaugural edition of the tournament.
It bears noting that all the six teams in the T20 league have Indian owners.
MI Cape Town’s “first list” includes 3 foreign players, 1 South African capped and 1 South African uncapped player.
Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio, said: “I’m excited as we begin our journey in building “MI Cape Town”. With our direct player signings, we have taken the first step towards building the MI philosophy having a strong core around which the team will be planned. I am glad to welcome Rashid, Kagiso, Liam, Sam, to the #OneFamily and happy to have Dewald continue with us on this new journey. We are certain that MI Cape Town, like the two other teams, will play the brand of cricket MI is synonymous with – playing fearless cricket, and the same will resonate with the passionate cricket fans of South Africa and across the world.”
The players identified have been consistent performers over the years and the uncapped Dewald Brevis had a breakthrough season with Mumbai Indians in 2022.
The players have been signed ahead of the auctions as per the rules that govern the T20 league.
1. Kagiso Rabada
South Africa
2. Dewald Brevis (Uncapped)
South Africa
3. Rashid Khan
Afghanistan
4. Sam Curran
England
5. Liam Livingstone
England
Earlier this week, MI announced the name and identity of ‘MI Cape Town’ or phonetically “MY Cape Town”, team dedicated to the fans of Cape Town.
On Wednesday, CSA announced that it had signed over 30 marquee names for the league, without identifying them. But ESPNcricinfo has published an initial list of the players signed up.
As per the cricket website, Rabada has been signed on for $300,000 by MI Cape Town.
As all franchises in the league are owned by Indian companies, what can be guaranteed is that there will be no Pakistani cricketers playing in the South African league.
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