SA20 2023: CSA introduces wild card picks for franchises ahead of inaugural season

The impending SA20, scheduled to kick off in January next year, has provided franchises with another opportunity to bolster their attacks after introducing a provision for wild card recruitments. The recruitment will be done without the involvement of the regulators, Cricket South Africa (CSA), and won't be affected by the salary cap of players.

The SA20 auction, which was held in September, handed the franchises a purse of $2 million for their business. But the latest provision of a wild card player will be made outside that purse, should the franchise opt for one, even after acquiring the full quota of 17 players in the auction. 

A CSA spokesperson confirmed the latest development, but has stated that the regulations are still being created. The franchises were informed of the provision in advance last month. One of the franchise owners also shed light on the latest news, stating that the teams are allowed to pick any players given their availability to play in the league.

"We can take any player we want and it will not be subject to any role of the SA20 nor the salary cap. We can pick a player seeing the availability," a franchise official revealed to Cricbuzz.

The latest development in the SA20 has opened the doors for Pakistani players to play in the league, who weren't part of the auctions. They were omitted from the original list due to their home T20I series against West Indies, which has been postponed now, allowing Pakistan players to make themselves available for the league.

There was a bit of controversy regarding the participation of Pakistani players in the league since all the teams were owned by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises. But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has now allowed contracted players to play in the league, having agreed in principle to issue NOCs if its players land up with SA20 contracts.