The 2026 edition of the SA20 cricket league gets underway in Cape Town on Friday when the home team, MI Cape Town, host Durban’s Super Giants, with the first ball to be bowled at 5.30pm.
Over the next month there will be 34 matches involving six teams in the fourth instalment of the league.
Here The Citizen looks at five players who could light up the SA20 in the coming weeks.
Lhuan-dré Pretorius
At just 18 years old the rookie opener from the Paarl Royals was the top batter last season, scoring an incredible 397 runs in 12 matches at an average of 33 and highest score of 97, to announce himself to the world of cricket.
He hit the most fours, an astonishing 47, to go with 16 sixes and ended the tournament with a strike rate of 167.
With several players on trial over the next month ahead of the T20 World Cup in February and March, expect Pretorius, still just 19, to go big and show he should be in that side!
Dewald Brevis
The most expensive player in SA20 history enjoyed an incredible 2025 season with MI Cape Town, scoring 291 runs at an average of 48 and at a strike rate of 184. Brevis will hope to go big again for the Pretoria Capitals this time, at a ground he knows well in Centurion.
He was the leading six hitter last campaign with 25, with 17 fours, so he knows how to pile on the runs and will look to continue that form this season.
While full of talent and match-winning potential, Brevis has been hit-and-miss for the Proteas and he will again want to show the world he is the real deal.
Heinrich Klaasen
The 34-year-old is no longer available to the Proteas, having decided he will just play T20 cricket around the world, so a big campaign is hopefully in the offing to remind everyone of his destructive hitting ability.
Klaasen didn’t have the best of seasons last time out, scoring just 198 runs in 10 matches for Durban’s Super Giants, finishing 18th on the run-scorers list. He averaged 28 with a top score of 76 and a strike rate of 134.
Klaasen will hope to find the form he showed in the 2024 season, when he scored a mind-bending 447 runs at 40 and strike rate of 207, with 37 sixes and 25 fours.
Marco Jansen
The all-rounder has played a big part in the Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s rise to dominance in the SA20 in its first three seasons, with contributions with bat and ball and he’ll look to continue that in the coming weeks, especially with Aiden Markram no longer involved with the Gqeberha-based side.
Jansen scored a handy 204 runs at 22 last season, but he’ll be keen to improve in this department this campaign, while he’ll hope for a repeat of his bowling exploits, which saw him top the charts last term.
He was leading wicket-taker, with 19, he bowled the most dot balls, 149, and had the best figures – 4/13.
Lutho Sipamla
The 27-year-old has moved from the Joburg Super Kings to the Sunrisers and could prove to be one of the best acquisitions this season if he manages to hit the kind of form he’s capable of.
Sipamla operated somewhat under the radar last season, but finished as the eighth highest wicket taker with 12, with a best of 3/13 and 77 dot balls from 193 balls bowled.
He’s a crafty bowler and following some success with the Proteas in India recently will be keen to kick on and show the selectors he’s a genuine contender to go to the T20 World Cup next year.
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