R600m for CSA from India series, and big bucks beckon for Proteas players who shine

South Africa’s four-match T20 series with India provides a timely ‘shop window’ for Proteas players ahead of the much-hyped ‘mega auction’ for the Indian Premier League. 

Cricket’s richest competition will hold its player auction in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on November 24 and 25, with more than 1,500 players vying for 204 spots in next year’s IPL. The IPL announced on Wednesday that 91 South African players had registered to be part of that auction, the second-largest figure for any country besides India. 

The overall player list will be trimmed ahead of the auction after consultation with the 10 franchises, though it can be assumed many of the Proteas players involved in the series with India will still be up for auction. 

Over R1bn will be spent at the auction, and with South Africa’s series against India the last high-profile competition before then, it is an ideal opportunity to garner attention from the franchises.

The backdrop of the IPL auction will add to the appeal with CSA expected to make about R600m from the broadcast rights for the series.

“The best marketing tool you can possibly have is to play for your country and then imagine doing well against India. It would be an absolute win-win,” said agent Chris Cardoso, director of The Sporting Agents.

Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs were the only Proteas players who were retained by their respective franchises, the former by Sunrisers Hyderabad for R48m and Stubbs by the Delhi Capitals for R21m.

The rest — including stellar names such as David Miller, Kagiso Rabada and T20 skipper Aiden Markram — will all be in the ‘player pot’ in Jeddah.

“Any opportunity to showcase your skills is a great chance to get picked up and seen by these IPL sides. They have so many scouts, managers, even people involved indirectly in their teams, and you never know who is watching any given game,” Cardoso said.

“Hopefully, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that a few of the boys get picked up. I’m very confident a few more will go this season because of SA20.” 

International matches always help, of course, with Klaasen’s unbeaten 43 in the 2018 ‘Pink ODI’ at the Wanderers an example of how one performance can swing attention a player’s way. 

Though Klaasen had been a late replacement the previous year at Rajasthan Royals for Australian Steve Smith, that innings, which secured South Africa’s only victory in a six-match ODI series, saw Klaasen picked up for R1.05m in the 2019 auction by Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

Rabada is the biggest South African name missing from the series with India that starts in Durban on Wednesday, but his reputation and his ranking as Test cricket’s No 1 bowler will see him signed. Miller and Markram’s experience should also count in their favour, but for the likes of Donovan Ferreira, who had a superb domestic T20 Challenge recently, any continuation of that kind of form in the next week will certainly excite some of the teams. 

Among the bowlers, Ottneil Baartman, who made enough of an impression in last season’s SA20 to be called up to Delhi’s training squad; Gerald Coetzee, fresh off a rehabilitation programme, and Marco Jansen will be players who will be closely watched. Higher quality performances could add an extra zero onto their salaries, or even a bidding war.

Though Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma are missing from India’s squad, it remains a strong unit, with the bulk of the players having plenty of IPL experience. Captain Suryakumar Yadav is one of four players who participated in this year’s T20 World Cup final, in which India defeated South Africa by seven runs. 

The series is the first meeting between the teams since and with India’s big Test series against Australia starting later this month, the four matches are expected to attract huge TV audiences in India, hence the expected R600m windfall for CSA.