Paarl Royals retain strong South African core for Season 3 of SA20

01 August 2024, National: With Wednesday's deadline for submitting the list of retained South African players, Paarl Royals on Thursday revealed a strong core of capped and uncapped South African retained players for Season 3 of the country's incredible T20 league - the SA20. The Boland Park-based team has retained 10 South African players who represented the franchise in Season 2, where the team reached the Playoffs. Skipper David Miller, pacer Lungi Ngidi, and all-rounders Bjorn Fortuin and Andile Phehlukwayo are among the players who have been retained ahead of the Auction.

Middle-order batter Mitchell van Buuren, seamer Codi Yusuf, all-rounder Keith Dudgeon, and leggie Nqaba Peter have also been retained. Rookie signings from Season 2, impressive youngsters Kwena Maphaka and Lhuandre Pretorius, who missed the SA20 but led the South African Men's U19 team's charge in the ICC U19 Men's World Cup earlier this year, will also be seen donning the Royals' colours.

The team has also traded in bowling all-rounder Dayyaan Galiem from Joburg Super Kings, with experienced spinner Tabraiz Shamsi going the other way. The franchise has also announced that Dane Vilas, Evan Jones, Wihan Lubbe, and Ferisco Adams will no longer be part of the team as they have been released.

Commenting on the South African retentions, Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara said, "We are delighted to go into the upcoming auction with a very formidable core of capped and uncapped South African players. After the disappointment of last season where we faltered towards the latter stages of the tournament, it was important to re-look at the squad and make certain changes. We believe this core has varied attributes and will serve as a solid base, which will further be complemented by the players we sign at the auction."

"At the same time, there were multiple difficult decisions we had to make considering the balance of our side, including letting go of someone like Tabraiz Shamsi, who made significant contributions to the franchise over the past couple of seasons. Dane Vilas, Evan Jones, Wihan Lubbe, and Ferisco Adams are also players who spent the last two seasons with us. From all of us at the Royals, we would like to thank them for their contribution to the franchise and wish them the best for the future," added Sangakkara.

Retained:
1. David Miller
2. Lungi Ngidi
3. Bjorn Fortuin
4. Andile Phehlukwayo
5. Mitchell van Buuren
6. Codi Yusuf
7. Keith Dudgeon
8. Nqaba Peter
9. Kwena Maphaka
10. Lhuan-dre Pretorius

Traded:
Out - Tabraiz Shamsi (to Joburg Super Kings)
In - Dayyaan Galiem (from Joburg Super Kings)

Released:
1. Dane Vilas
2. Evan Jones
3. Wihan Lubbe
4. Ferisco Adams