SA20: Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen headline auction shortlist

The SA20 Season 5 auction will see 156 cricketers go under the hammer on October 7, with former Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder among the leading South African names available.The shortlist was trimmed down from 789 players who initially registered for the auction. Of the 156 players remaining, 95 are South African and 61 are overseas cricketers, with 19 squad places still available across four of the six franchises.Durban's Super Giants and Paarl Royals have already completed their 19-player squads and will not participate in the auction. Joburg Super Kings and MI Cape Town have six slots each to fill, while Pretoria Capitals have five and Sunrisers Eastern Cape have two.JSK and MI Cape Town also have the largest purses available, with $1.24 million and $562,813, respectively. Sunrisers Eastern Cape have $216,699 remaining, while Pretoria Capitals have $88,786.Among the leading South African players in the pool are du Plessis, Mulder, fast bowler Nandre Burger and veteran batter van der Dussen. Du Plessis, who previously led JSK, continues to feature prominently in franchise cricket and recently finished as the leading run-scorer in Europe.The two Under-23 slots are also expected to attract significant interest. Fast bowler Matthew Boast, who commanded the joint-highest bid at the Season 2 auction, is among the players in this category, alongside former South Africa Under-19 captain Jason Rowles.The first four SA20 auctions have produced several significant deals. Tristan Stubbs fetched $554,693 at the inaugural auction, while Dewald Brevis set a new record with a $994,834 deal last season.The auction has also provided a route for several South African players to gain exposure to international franchise cricket, with some subsequently securing further opportunities on the global T20 circuit.The overseas contingent includes former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamar Joseph, Mohammad Nabi, AM Ghazanfar, Jordan Cox, Aneurin Donald, Rehan Ahmed and Richard Gleeson.Several established T20 names are already part of the six franchises, including Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Sam Curran, Sunil Narine, Kane Williamson, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Marsh and Phil Salt.SA20 Auction Live StreamingThe auction will be broadcast live on SuperSport at 5pm SAST, JioStar at 8.30pm IST, Sky Sports at 4pm BST, Apex at 7.30pm PKT, Fox Sports at 11pm AEDT and Willow TV at 11am ET. The event will also be streamed live on the SA20 YouTube channel.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.