SA20 Commissioner guarantees amazing T20 action for Indian fans
The cricket-loving public will have an immersive experience in India from Viacom18 Sports.
Delhi, 2 December 2022: Commissioner Graeme Smith promised Indian fans an action-packed, elite league with their broadcast partners Viacom18 Sports with less than a month till the start of the first SA20. The recently launched premier T20 league of South Africa will be exclusively aired and streamed in India thanks to a deal between Viacom18 and SA20 announced in November.
SA20 Commissioner Graeme Smith stated this at an event with Viacom18 Sports in Mumbai: “The purpose of SA20 is to get South African cricket back to the place we all know it belongs – competing with India, fighting with the likes of England and Australia, and keeping the international game strong.
“We have that opportunity now through the partners we have been able to attract – the six teams,” he continued, “and we are going to put sixty to eighty of South African players on the map and bring that fandom to India. And the new heroes will come to the IPL and play for South Africa all over the world. We want to create something dynamic, and we would really love to be able to create the largest league outside of India.
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners own the six SA20 teams, Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals, and Sunrisers Eastern Cape. With the reputation of the team owners and the popularity of South African players with Indian fans, SA20 has a solid foundation on which to create one of the world’s best T20 international leagues.
Anil Jayaraj, CEO of Viacom18 Sports, said that SA20 would quickly rise to become one of the most well-known T20 leagues in the world at a celebration of the alliance. The most renowned cricket players from South Africa will compete alongside international superstars during prime time in India, and our presentation will reflect the excitement and adrenaline of the event.
Before the semifinals and championship game, which are contested over a four-week period, clubs in the league play each other twice in a round-robin round. MI The competition begins on Tuesday, January 10, at Newlands with Cape Town and its neighboring Paarl Royals. The Super Giants of Durban will play the Joburg Super Kings at Kingsmead on January 11 after the first match.
Quinton de Kock, Faf Du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Rashid Khan, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Liam Livingstone, Maheesh Theekshana, and Jason Holder are just a few of the international superstars who will be competing in the SA20.
Viacom18’s portfolio of elite sporting events, which already includes the Indian Premier League, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM, NBA, Diamond League, LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and premier ATP and BWF tournaments, is strengthened by the inclusion of the SA20.