SA20 2025 Team of the Tournament

SA20 2025 concluded on Saturday, February 8. MI Cape Town emerged as comprehensive winners of the third edition of the prominent 20-over franchise competition by defeating Sunrisers Eastern Cape by a thumping margin of 76 runs in the final of the tournament. The summit clash was staged at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

The recently concluded installment saw a considerable rise in broadcast numbers and enthusiasm when it comes to public interest and stadium attendance. The 34-game tournament saw a truckload of runs and wickets, in addition to a whole lot of high-octane moments which transpired over the course of the month-long extravaganza. 

Speaking of the finalists, Cape Town and Eastern Cape ended the league phase on first and third position, respectively. The former had won a total of seven games out of the nine completed ones (one game was washed out). On the other hand, the runners-up won five and lost as many. There were a whole lot of players who stood out for their respective sides on several instances.

Here's the Team of the Tournament of SA20 2025 -

Openers: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen

Lhuan-dre Pretorius ended up as the leading run-scorer of this editon with 397 runs to his name, comprising a tally of 63 boundaries (47 fours and 16 sixes). He started off the tournament with a bang; blasting fiery 97 and 83-run knocks to win back-to-back Player of the Match accolades. 

36-year-old Rassie van der Dussen was truly a revelation for MI Cape Town at the top of the order. The manner in which he approached the new ball with utter disdain was quite a refreshing development to be witnessed. He provided several solid starts to his side, ending up the tournament just four runs shy of Pretorius's count. 

Middle-order: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rubin Hermann, Joe Root

Ryan Rickelton, despite playing only eight innings, comes amongst the top run-getters of the tournament. He consistenly provided MI Cape Town good starts after coming out to bat at No. 3. Apart from his heroics with the bat, Rickelton provided enough utility with the gloves with nine dismissals.

Playing in his first SA20, Rubin Hermann attracted a lot of eyeballs for his impressive power-hitting. He was one of the star performers for Paarl Royals. Having saved the best for the last, Hermann carted 333 runs in nine innings. 

Although Joe Root hit just six sixes in the entire tournament, his contributions with the bat were extremely vital nonetheless. What makes Root's 279-run season even more impressive is the fact that two of the eight innings he featured in, were the ones where he got dismissed without troubling the scorers. 

All-rounders: Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen

Dewald Brevis was the only batter in the top-10 leading run-getters in the recent edition to finish with more sixes (25) to his name than fours (17); such was his influence for the champions of SA20 2025. He also delivered reasonably well, when called upon to bowl. 

In the 13 matches Marco Jansen bowled, he secured an overall haul of 19 dismissals. The 2.06 metre-tall left-armer ended up as SA20 2025's leading wicket-taker, having bowled a total of 49 overs in the tournament. His 4/13 against Pretoria Capitals could well be considered as one of the best new-ball spells of the third season. 

Bowlers: Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult

While Rashid Khan might not have taken wickets in large numbers as many might have expected him to ahead of the tournament, it was surely a commendable effort from him in terms of consistency. Other than his charismatic personality while leading MI Cape Town, the manner in which he kept proceedings in check from one end was a truly special effort from the spin wizard from Afghanistan.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman was another spinner who impressed massively. Sticking to his guns of bowling tight channels, Mujeeb was a tough nut to crack for most batters of the opposing teams to have played against him. The mystery spinner ended up with 14 dismissals in 12 innings.

When stacked up against the top wicket-takers of the 2025 edition of the SA20, Kagiso Rabada ended up as being the most miserly. After all, an economy rate of 6.53 throughout a high-octane tournament like the SA20 is a noteworthy achievement for any bowler, regardless of the experience they possess.

Sharing the workload alongside Rabada was Trent Boult. Living up to his reputation of being a big-match player, Boult's best performance came in the all-important final. His 2/9 in four overs earned him the Player of the Match accolade. A whopping total of 17 dot deliveries were bowled during the mesmerising spell. Boult ended up with a sub-seven economy rate over the span of the 10 innings he played a role in.   

Also Read: SA20 2025 Winner Prize Money, Complete List of Award-Winners, Top Records & Stats - All You Need To Know

SA20 2025 Team of the Tournament: 

Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rubin Hermann, Joe Root, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult