The SA20 2024 finished with the final at Newlands, Cape Town, on Saturday, February 10. The season had memorable moments, with the strong Indian Premier League (IPL) foundation and the talent pool that helped raise the quality of the league as well. And, Graeme Smith has been hopeful that the SA20 potentially becoming the second-best T20 league in the world behind the IPL.
“I think we achieved all our goals. It will take us some time to collate all the data but halfway through the tournament, all numbers were up. In particular, the cricket was outstanding this year with teams getting more competitive,” Smith said. “When you look at the cricket stats, everything improved and that is what we wanted. We want the league to get stronger and the cricket to be as competitive as possible. I think the thing that I will always be grateful for is the support from the public. The people who turn on their televisions and come to the stadiums, the vibrancy of the league. The feedback we have been receiving has been extremely positive.”
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However, the SA20 has helped in preparation for the South African players in particular ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Proteas are only scheduled to play three T20Is before the mega event, with the IPL set to take place in the March-May window as well. And, SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith has said that the league to work closely with Cricket South Africa (CSA) in the future to avoid potential clashes between the franchise-based T20 tournament and international bilateral series as well. Notably, CSA had to name a second-string Test squad led by Neil Brand for the two-match away series against New Zealand due to the league.
“It should never have happened. We will work together with Cricket South Africa to make sure that doesn’t happen again. We generally will always be in the same window and we will have to gather information around the international tournaments and will be working with CSA on scheduling,” Graeme Smith said during a media interaction (via Hindustan Times).
“So we have already started all of that and we will take a look at the window. We have been quite upfront. January-February window is where Cricket South Africa identified as the best place to be. But you have always got to reflect and see what the challenges are in the world game. The Champions Trophy dates are not set in stone. We will work with the ICC and CSA and once we’ve got confirmed information, we can make informed decisions,” Graeme Smith concluded.
