Former South African all-rounder Chris Morris detailed how the country’s premier franchise-based T20 league, SA20, is doing more than just bringing crowds to the stadiums and glitz and entertainment for the fans. Ahead of its fifth edition in January next year, the six-team tournament brought several changes to its retention and auction policies. Elated about the league’s growth and what it has done for the players, South Africa’s Cricket Board (CSA) and their cricket ecosystem, Morris explained how it is building depth for the future in an exclusive chat with WION. &nbsp;Morris tells WION that the young players rubbing shoulders with some of the best from the country and also overseas is doing more than just good for them. Explaining how previous challenges (regarding schedules) restricted their talents from growing into world-class match winners, Morris said SA20 is the one platform which has helped everyone overcome it. &nbsp;“It's definitely building depth. You've got young players playing against the best in the country, first of all. In the past, sometimes our domestic leagues would clash with international cricket, and our international players wouldn't be there, or there'd be an IPL on, or there'd be another league on where players would be playing overseas. &nbsp;“And what the SA20 has done is it's said, we're going to play all of our international players. So when you've got youngsters playing against the best that South Africa has, and obviously the best that some of the world has to offer, it's only going to make you better as a cricketer,” South African legend Chris Morris, in an interaction facilitated by SA20 ahead of the Season 5 Auction, said to WION.&nbsp;<h2>‘Watching legends train will help young players grow’</h2>Morris said thanks to the mandatory policy of having at least two Under-23 players in the squad for each franchise, those emerging from humble backgrounds get to share the dressing room with their idols.&nbsp; &nbsp;Morris, who once was the highest-paid overseas player in the IPL, said even watching those legends and training like them can convert the youngsters into match-winning products for the future.&nbsp;Also read| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-class-infra-science-backed-coaching-and-data-blueprint-for-making-india-sports-powerhouse-1786443287311">World-class infra, science-backed coaching, and data: Blueprint for making India sports powerhouse</a> &nbsp;“And youngsters that are coming in, even if they don't play, they are sharing a changing room with players, world-class players, that they can see how they train, how they go about their business. And I think what you pick up quite quickly as a youngster is you go, you see the world-class player, and you go, that's the standard that I need to be at. We all do it as young cricketers. &nbsp;“You watch how certain bowlers bowl, how they train, how bad it is, how many times they hit balls, how they go about their business. Are they in the gym? They watch the whole facet of what a player does. And I think, unfortunately, a lot of us fall short of, when we're young, we fall short of what we think we need to be doing as a cricketer,” Morris continued. &nbsp;Heaping praises on how this T20 league in particular is helping the emerging talent grow leaps and bounds in the country, Morris said, &nbsp;“When you've got those senior players or international players coming in, and you go, okay, that's the standard I need to be at if I want to play for South Africa and if I want to be as good as that person. And that creates depth because you take what you've learned from the SA20 and you take it into your domestic training, and the reality is that you go, right, I need to be like this if I want to play. And if you're taking that back to your franchise, all of a sudden, they're looking at the player that was playing at SA20, and they're going, well, that's how we need to train because that person at the top is training like that. &nbsp;“And it's just a domino effect. And it's one thing that you will realise when you get older in cricket. There's always someone younger, stronger, fitter that wants it more than you. &nbsp;“When you've got that going and a healthy cricket tournament and healthy cricket in the country, that's where you create the depth. And yeah, I think it's done an unbelievable job for that,” he concluded.

Former SA star Chris Morris tells WION how SA20 is building depth for South Africa's cricket future by pairing young talent with international legends.

Former South African all-rounder Chris Morris detailed how the country’s premier franchise-based T20 league, SA20, is doing more than just bringing crowds to the stadiums and glitz and entertainment for the fans. Ahead of its fifth edition in January next year, the six-team tournament brought several changes to its retention and auction policies. Elated about the league’s growth and what it has done for the players, South Africa’s Cricket Board (CSA) and their cricket ecosystem, Morris explained how it is building depth for the future in an exclusive chat with WION. Morris tells WION that the young players rubbing shoulders with some of the best from the country and also overseas is doing more than just good for them. Explaining how previous challenges (regarding schedules) restricted their talents from growing into world-class match winners, Morris said SA20 is the one platform which has helped everyone overcome it. “It's definitely building depth. You've got young players playing against the best in the country, first of all. In the past, sometimes our domestic leagues would clash with international cricket, and our international players wouldn't be there, or there'd be an IPL on, or there'd be another league on where players would be playing overseas. “And what the SA20 has done is it's said, we're going to play all of our international players. So when you've got youngsters playing against the best that South Africa has, and obviously the best that some of the world has to offer, it's only going to make you better as a cricketer,” South African legend Chris Morris, in an interaction facilitated by SA20 ahead of the Season 5 Auction, said to WION. ‘Watching legends train will help young players grow’ Morris said thanks to the mandatory policy of having at least two Under-23 players in the squad for each franchise, those emerging from humble backgrounds get to share the dressing room with their idols. Morris, who once was the highest-paid overseas player in the IPL, said even watching those legends and training like them can convert the youngsters into match-winning products for the future. Also read| World-class infra, science-backed coaching, and data: Blueprint for making India sports powerhouse “And youngsters that are coming in, even if they don't play, they are sharing a changing room with players, world-class players, that they can see how they train, how they go about their business. And I think what you pick up quite quickly as a youngster is you go, you see the world-class player, and you go, that's the standard that I need to be at. We all do it as young cricketers. “You watch how certain bowlers bowl, how they train, how bad it is, how many times they hit balls, how they go about their business. Are they in the gym? They watch the whole facet of what a player does. And I think, unfortunately, a lot of us fall short of, when we're young, we fall short of what we think we need to be doing as a cricketer,” Morris continued. Heaping praises on how this T20 league in particular is helping the emerging talent grow leaps and bounds in the country, Morris said, “When you've got those senior players or international players coming in, and you go, okay, that's the standard I need to be at if I want to play for South Africa and if I want to be as good as that person. And that creates depth because you take what you've learned from the SA20 and you take it into your domestic training, and the reality is that you go, right, I need to be like this if I want to play. And if you're taking that back to your franchise, all of a sudden, they're looking at the player that was playing at SA20, and they're going, well, that's how we need to train because that person at the top is training like that. “And it's just a domino effect. And it's one thing that you will realise when you get older in cricket. There's always someone younger, stronger, fitter that wants it more than you. “When you've got that going and a healthy cricket tournament and healthy cricket in the country, that's where you create the depth. And yeah, I think it's done an unbelievable job for that,” he concluded.

Former SA star Chris Morris tells WION how SA20 is building depth for South Africa's cricket future by pairing young talent with international legends.

EXCLUSIVE | How SA20 is building South Africa's cricket future: Chris Morris explains

The SA20 (South Africa's premier T20 cricket league) is getting ready for its fourth season and former South African all-rounder Chris Morris recently shared his views on the upcoming players auction, scheduled to take place on 9 September, 2025 in Johannesburg. With the recent rise of aggressive young talent in South African cricket, this year’s auction is expected to be the most competitive in the history of the tournament. A total of 84 spots are open and the league has added the RTM (Right to Match) card in the auction. The RTM card allows a team to retain a player they previously released by matching the highest bid for that player.&nbsp;Chris Morris, expressed his thoughts on the upcoming auctions and said that the auctions are always exciting, but the SA20 is the big one because many big players are back in the pool.&nbsp;“The auction is always exciting, no matter the tournament, but SA20 is the big one, with most of the players back in the pool. There have been a lot of retentions and several wild cards picked up, so it will be interesting to see how the teams go about building their squads. Some teams have plenty of money to spend, while others have already filled half their squads and don’t have much left in the purse.” he was quoted saying to SuperSport.&nbsp;This means a lot of domestic players will be putting their hands up this season, and they’re likely to get opportunities because of the financial dynamics at play. I’ve already started my homework, looking at the teams, the squads, and who’s available, and I have a few ideas of where players might land. It’s a great time of the year, and SA20 is going to be even bigger this season," he added.&nbsp;Morris further tipped about South African batter, Aiden Markram, who is not retained by Sunrisers Eastern Cape (his previous team in SA20) as one of the most in-demand players in the upcoming auction. “Sunrisers haven’t retained him, but they do have a right-to-match card, meaning they can match the final bid for him and retain his services. That opens the door for mind games — other teams could bid aggressively to push his price high enough to make it difficult for the Sunrisers to bring him back.”

"Two teams stand out to me: MI Cape Town, which would solve their captaincy question — not that Rashid Khan is doing a bad job — but having a successful local international captain at number four would be a big boost, especially since they’ve released Rassie van der Dussen, leaving a vacancy at number three. The other is Pretoria Capitals, who have one of the largest remaining purses. He’s a local player, would fill their captaincy role, slot in at number three, and bring strong leadership after Rilee Rossouw’s stint last year. Either way, Aiden Markram is going to be hot property," Morris added. According to reports, last year, about 600 players signed up for the auction, and it is expected that the number could be even higher this year. Several big names including Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow are already confirmed by the teams for the tournament.

The 2026 SA20 auction will take place on September 9 in Johannesburg. Players have to register them before August 18 for the tournament.

The SA20 (South Africa's premier T20 cricket league) is getting ready for its fourth season and former South African all-rounder Chris Morris recently shared his views on the upcoming players auction, scheduled to take place on 9 September, 2025 in Johannesburg. With the recent rise of aggressive young talent in South African cricket, this year’s auction is expected to be the most competitive in the history of the tournament. A total of 84 spots are open and the league has added the RTM (Right to Match) card in the auction. The RTM card allows a team to retain a player they previously released by matching the highest bid for that player. Chris Morris, expressed his thoughts on the upcoming auctions and said that the auctions are always exciting, but the SA20 is the big one because many big players are back in the pool. “The auction is always exciting, no matter the tournament, but SA20 is the big one, with most of the players back in the pool. There have been a lot of retentions and several wild cards picked up, so it will be interesting to see how the teams go about building their squads. Some teams have plenty of money to spend, while others have already filled half their squads and don’t have much left in the purse.” he was quoted saying to SuperSport. This means a lot of domestic players will be putting their hands up this season, and they’re likely to get opportunities because of the financial dynamics at play. I’ve already started my homework, looking at the teams, the squads, and who’s available, and I have a few ideas of where players might land. It’s a great time of the year, and SA20 is going to be even bigger this season," he added. Morris further tipped about South African batter, Aiden Markram, who is not retained by Sunrisers Eastern Cape (his previous team in SA20) as one of the most in-demand players in the upcoming auction. “Sunrisers haven’t retained him, but they do have a right-to-match card, meaning they can match the final bid for him and retain his services. That opens the door for mind games — other teams could bid aggressively to push his price high enough to make it difficult for the Sunrisers to bring him back.”

The 2026 SA20 auction will take place on September 9 in Johannesburg. Players have to register them before August 18 for the tournament

'A lot of retentions and several wild cards...:' Ex-Proteas all-rounder expressed his thoughts ahead of SA20 auction

sa20-auction

Sa20 Auction, News on Sa20 Auction, stories on Sa20 Auction, articles on Sa20 Auction, Sa20 Auction stories at Wion, Sa20 Auction news, Sa20 Auction latest news

sa20 auction

EXCLUSIVE | How SA20 is building South Africa's cricket future: Chris Morris explains

Former Proteas all-rounder expressed his thoughts ahead of SA20 auction