All six teams in cricket South Africa T20 League to be owned by IPL franchises

The six successful bidders are Reliance Industries Limited, who are the owners of Mumbai Indians; RPSG Sports, owners of Lucknow Super Giants; Sun TV Network Limited, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad; Chennai Super Kings Cricket; Paarl Royals Sports Group, owners of Rajasthan Royals and JSW Sports, co-owners of Delhi Capitals.

The bid process, it said, was managed by Deloitte Corporate Finance, attracted over 29 entities who expressed interest in owning a franchise worldwide. Over 10 venues were made available for interested bidders to own a franchise and all 10 of them received expressions of interest.

Reliance Industries team will be based out of Newlands, Cape Town. Kingsmead, Durban is where the RPSG Sports team will be in; St George’s Park, Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) is where the Sun TV Network team will be. In Wanderers, Johannesburg is where the Chennai Super Kings Cricket franchise will operate. Boland Park is where Rajasthan Royals will operate from Boland Park. JSW Sports franchise will operate from SuperSport Park, Pretoria.

The commissioner for the new league, Graeme Smith said the league will take place in January and February 2023. “This is truly an exciting time for South African cricket; the overwhelming interest shows that the country remains valued in the global cricketing eco-system. The strong sports background of the respective owners and the global brands they manage ensures that South African cricket and the broader industry will benefit from their expertise and resources, as they bring stability and experience to the league,” he said.

For the teams, a number of leading international players had been contracted and they will be announced soon, he said.

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