SA20 auction: JSK sign Pollard, Rowles; MICT pick Hetmyer and Boult

Joburg Super Kings have signed up Kieron Pollard for SA20 2027 at the mini-auction on Wednesday with no rival bid from MI Cape Town. After releasing Faf du Plessis ahead of the auction, JSK got him back for R 2.7 million, staving off competition from MICT.

MICT had the option to wait and bid for Pollard, who has been part of all of MI's franchises around the world, but they instead chose to sign Shimron Hetmyer, who was the first name to come up for bidding, as their finisher. Both Pollard and Hetmyer were sold for R 1.5 million.

MICT spent R 1.5 million to bring back New Zealand left-arm seamer Trent Boult, who has been a powerplay specialist for their teams in the IPL, MLC, SA20, ILT20 and the Hundred.

The biggest buy in the mini-auction was 18-year-old allrounder Jason Rowles, who commanded a bid of R 2.9 million. JSK secured his services after beating MICT in a fierce bidding war.

A left-hand batter who can also bowl left-arm spin, Rowles is a rising star with immense potential in South African cricket. He topped the run-charts for South Africa in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, with 280 runs in five innings at an excellent average of 70 and strike rate of 112. More recently in July, in Hove, he scored a double-hundred in a Youth Test.

"Jason Rowles was the highlight of the day for me. Seeing an 18-year-old spark the biggest bidding battle of the day tells you how much the franchises believe in the next generation," Graeme Smith, the SA20 league commissioner, said in a statement. "It was only last year that he was participating in the Final of the rain Schools SA20 and today he will get to be a part of a squad consisting of some of the world's best T20 stars. That's the pathway we set out to build, and it's hugely encouraging to see it working."

Pollard, who is just one run away from becoming the second batter after Jos Buttler to score 15,000 T20 runs, will add more power to the JSK middle order, which already includes Donovan Ferreira and Dian Forrester, both of whom also bring IPL experience to the SA20.

Allrounder Wiaan Mulder, too, drew interest from both JSK, whom he represented in the previous season, and MICT, but eventually went to MICT for R 2.6 million. South Africa-born USA wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous, Zimbabwe's tall quick Blessing Muzarabani and local allrounder Dayyaan Galiem rounded up JSK's picks at the auction. They have unveiled Jamie Overton as their wildcard.

Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape, meanwhile, beefed up their seam attack with the inclusion of powerplay specialist Craig Overton and left-arm quick Nandre Burger. While Burger is a new face at SEC, Craig has already played six games for the franchise at the SA20.

Burger and Craig Overton will combine with Marco Jansen, Adam Milne, Anrich Nortje and Lutho Sipamla for a formidable pace pack.

As for Pretoria Capitals, they picked Rassie van der Dussen for R 500,000 after the batter had gone unsold in the marquee set. Temba Bavuma was the last pick in the auction, going to Capitals for R 200,000. Capitals also bagged the West Indian pair of Keemo Paul and Ackeem Auguste.

Having already filled up their squads prior to the auction, both Paarl Royals and Durban's Super Giants didn't participate in the event on Wednesday.

The fifth season of the SA20 will begin on January 17, 2027 in Gqeberha and end with the final on February 21 in Cape Town. The season opener at St George's Park will be a rematch of the 2026 season's final between SEC and PC.

Retained players: Jarren Bacher, Matthew de Villiers, Leus du Plooy, Donovan Ferreira, Dian Forrester, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Duan Jansen, Rilee Rossouw, Janco Smit, Prenelan Subrayen, James Vince (England)

Pre-signings: Jason Holder (West Indies)

Auction signings: Faf du Plessis (R 2,700,000), Jason Rowles (R 2,900,000), Dayyaan Galiem (R 375,000), Kieron Pollard (R 1,500,000), Blessing Muzarabani (R 500,000) and Andries Gous (R 1,000,000)

Retained players: Corbin Bosch, Reeza Hendricks, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Thomas Kaber, George Linde, Tristan Luus - U23, Dane Piedt, Nicholas Pooran (West Indies), Kagiso Rabada (Wildcard), Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tiaan van Vuuren

Pre-signings: Will Jacks (England)

Auction signings: Shimron Hetmyer (R 1,500,000), Wiaan Mulder (R 2,600,000), Trent Boult (R 1,500,000), Daniel Smith (R 200,000), Lehan Botha (R 200,000) and Oliver Whitehead (R 200,000)

Retained players: Dewald Brevis, Connor Esterhuizen, Wihan Lubbe, Keshav Maharaj, Bayanda Majola - U23, Lungi Ngidi, Bryce Parsons, Gideon Peters, Andre Russell (West Indies - Wildcard), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Lizaad Williams, Codi Yusuf

Pre-signings: Phil Salt (England), Matthew Short (Australia)

Auction signings: Rassie van der Dussen (R 500,000), Keemo Paul (R 200,000), Ackeem Auguste (R 200,000), Josh Breed (R 200,000), Temba Bavuma (R 200,000)

Retained players: Matthew Breetzke, James Coles (England), Quinton de Kock, Lewis Gregory (England), Jordan Hermann, Marco Jansen (Wildcard), CJ King - U23, JP King, Patrick Kruger, Adam Milne (New Zealand), Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Lutho Sipamla, Tristan Stubbs, Mitchell van Buuren

Pre-signings: Mitch Marsh (Australia), Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh)

Auction signings: Nandre Burger (R 500,000), Craig Overton (R 1,500,000)

Retained players: Ottneil Baartman, JJ Basson - U23, Bjorn Fortuin, Rubin Hermann, Dan Lawrence (England), Keagan Lion-Cachet, David Miller, Nqobani Mokoena - U23, Gudakesh Motie (West Indies), Delano Potgieter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius - U23, Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Thomas Rew (England), Asa Tribe (Jersey), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Kyle Verreynne, Hardus Viljoen

Pre-signings: Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan), Joe Root (Wildcard)

Auction signings: None

Retained players: Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Eathan Bosch, Jos Buttler (England), Gerald Coetzee, Devon Conway (New Zealand), Tony de Zorzi, Daryn Dupavillon, Simon Harmer, Evan Jones, Heinrich Klaasen (Wildcard), Liam Livingstone (England), Kwena Maphaka - U23, Aiden Markram, Sunil Narine (West Indies), Andile Simelane - U23, Kyle Simmonds, Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

Pre-signings: Sam Curran (England)

Auction signings: None