Former England spearhead James Anderson and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan sit at the front of a 541-strong auction catalogue for SA20 2025-26, confirmed for 9 September. The document, released late on Monday, is heavy on South Africans (300 names) but still leaves room for 241 overseas hopefuls chasing just 25 international spots.
Anderson, 43, pops up after an 11-year T20 holiday that ended with appearances for Lancashire in the Blast and three outings for Manchester Originals in the Hundred. He is one of 97 English players available, alongside Moeen Ali, Alex Hales and Tom Abell – the latter was Player of the Match in last season’s final.
Shakib and fellow left-armer Mustafizur Rahman headline a 14-strong Bangladeshi contingent. Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee is the sole representative from his country, while Australia offers only two names – D’Arcy Short and leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou – because the BBL will run at the same time.
Aiden Markram chose not to take a retention deal with champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape, so the South Africa captain joins the auction pool that already contains Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi and Gerald Coetzee, all part of the T20 World Cup runners-up side earlier this year.
The numbers behind the shopping spree are straightforward enough:
• Six franchises
• 84 squad places in total
• 25 for overseas players, 59 reserved for South Africans
• Each list of 19 must include at least two Under-23 players.
Pretoria Capitals hold the fattest wallet, R32.5 million (about US$1.86 m) for 13 vacancies, five of them international. MI Cape Town have the lightest purse – R11.5 m (US$0.65 m) – and 12 gaps to plug, including four overseas berths.
Auction dynamics can change quickly, yet the presence of a veteran seamer with 700-plus Test wickets and the world’s leading left-arm spinner guarantees headlines. Whether Anderson attracts a strategic punt or merely a respectful bid remains to be seen, but his name alone adds a dash of curiosity to a league keen to grow beyond its second season.
The full auction list, spread across 22 countries, underscores how seriously players view South Africa’s flagship T20 competition. Final squads will be confirmed on the night of 9 September, and then the real planning – player availability, travel, and inevitably workload management – begins in earnest.
