Former Proteas captain Graeme Smith will head up South Africa’s new T20 League.
Smith, whose contract as Cricket South Africa’s Director of Cricket ran out in March, will oversee all aspects - both cricketing and non-cricketing.
The league has incorporated satellite broadcaster, SuperSport, one of its major shareholders.
Among Smith’s first orders of business will be to develop the brand and confirm the participating franchises for the annual tournament, with the inaugural event scheduled to take place in January and February 2023.
Graeme Smith is going to be the overall head of South Africa's new T20 league 🙇♂️
🔗 https://t.co/l79kIaIshw pic.twitter.com/YlnbOFXiFy
Reports from India, though, have indicated all six franchises that went under the hammer have been acquired by Indian Premier League owners. England’s South African-born batter Kevin Pietersen was also in contention to acquire a new franchise, but could not match the bidding price of the IPL owners.
The Mumbai Indians have reportedly purchased the Cape Town franchise, Chennai Super Kings (Johannesburg), Delhi Capitals (Pretoria), Lucknow Super Giants (Durban), Sunrisers Hyderabad (Port Elizabeth) and Rajasthan Royals (Paarl).
Smith says: “I’m extremely honoured to be entrusted with leading this exciting new venture. I’m deeply committed to South African cricket and happy to serve the game as best I can.
Graeme Smith might not always be everyone's cup of tea, but you can't argue with his people skills and his ability to keep Indian Cricket engaged. The first season is going to be vital for the success of our T20 league. No slip ups this time pic.twitter.com/NLuvK0TRRe
— Werner (@Werries_) July 19, 2022
“I’m excited by the opportunity to deliver the new league which I believe will be an extremely competitive product, one that can bring the much-needed investment into the game and provide new opportunities for players around the world and more importantly to our SA home grown talent.
“The response from stakeholders has been very positive thus far and we’ve made great progress in the initial stages...”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za