SA20 2026 auction date, new retention rules set

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has introduced a few changes for the 2026 edition of their biggest product, the SA20.

SA20 2026 auction & tournament window

To start with, the auction date has been pushed up. Last year, players went under the hammer on October 1. This time around, September 9 has been finalised. Since there are no home Test matches in the South African 2025-26 season, CSA has decided to host the SA20 2026 season starting from Boxing Day (December 26) and ending on January 26.

However, the window of the tournament will revert back to the January to mid-February window for 2027 and 2028. There will be no new franchise additions. The six teams, Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals, and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, will be in action. The number of matches, 34, won’t be changed either.

Change in retention rule for SA20 2026

CSA has decided that the six franchises won’t be able to retain more than 6 players. Therefore, teams will have the chance to fill 72 slots available. This accounts for 63% of the total spots (108). Franchises can pick no more than 7 overseas players and a minimum of 11 South African players.

CSA has introduced the use of the Right to Match (RTM) card as well. The number of RTMs for each team will depend upon the number of South African players they have retained. The rookie draft has also been cancelled. However, teams have to sign a minimum of two under-23 players.

The salary cap for the SA20 2026 auction has been increased to R41 million (Rs 19.90 crore) from R39.1 million (Rs 18.98 crore). Teams are also allowed to sign a wildcard player, whose price is not included in the salary cap.