More Indian cricketers participating in SA20 will allow the league to grow exponentially: Allan Donald

Legendary former South African pacer Allan Donald has dropped a hint regarding a potential expansion of SA20, suggesting that the league could grow exponentially with greater participation from Indian cricketers. This year, the third edition of the SA20 saw Dinesh Karthik playing for Paarl Royals. The wicketkeeper-batter became the first Indian cricketer to play in the six-team tournament.

Ahead of the highly-anticipated SA20 2025 final between MI Cape Town and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Donald addressed the speculations about two new franchises being added to the SA20 next season.

"You know, there's a little rumour going around at the moment. I saw it on Instagram again this morning... could there be two more franchises added? So there was a little guy with a poster of Royal Challengers Bloemfontein. So who knows? I mean, we'll see what pops up at the end of the year," SA20 Ambassador Donald said during a virtual media interaction.

Donald lauded Karthik for his involvement in SA20 2025. The former speedster expressed hope that more Indian players would come to the Rainbow Nation to play in the league in the coming years. He even voiced his desire to see stalwarts like Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli taking part in the competition.

"Well, you know, it's not for me to decide. Obviously, BCCI is the strongest cricket board in the world. I think it would be great to see younger and more talented guys. You know, you've got your established guys, you've got your Rohit Sharma, who's done it, who's been around for long," Donald said.

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"If there's some Indian cricketers keen to play in the SA20, wow, it would be amazing. This league would grow and grow exponentially. Will we see some more Indian cricketers coming to our shores and be part of SA20? I sat in the first year and I thought this is a massive competition. The second year was even bigger. And this year we're reaching heights greater than what we have seen before. It would be great, there's no doubt about that. If Indian cricketers are available, I'm sure that Greame Smith and his team would definitely grab that chance," he added.