“The partners who’ve come on board are key”: Graeme Smith appreciates IPL owners for their involvement in South Africa T20 league

Former South African captain Graeme Smith has appreciated the involvement of IPL owners in the South African T20 League.

The brand new South Africa T20 League is set to start in January 2023, where a total of six teams will be taking part in the tournament. It is interesting that all six teams have been bought by the IPL owners only.

The franchises of Durban, Cape Town, Gqeberha, Johannesburg, Paarl and Pretoria have been bought by the owners of Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals, respectively.

Graeme Smith appreciates the IPL owners

Former South African captain Graeme Smith is leading the South Africa T20 league. He has said that they are working day and night to make this tournament a success. Smith has particularly talked about the importance of the strong IPL owners involved in the tournament.

Smith insists that the involvement of these owners increases the credibility and sustainability of the league. The T20 league is set to start in January next year, and Smith insists that the fans will love the competition.

“We’re public with six very strong team owners who’ve invested in the league and South African cricket,” Graeme Smith said in an interview to Times of India.

“It’s not just the credibility that these team owners bring to the league that’s important, but sustainability is hugely important too for a league of this kind. The partners who’ve come on board are key to that.”

Rajasthan Royals confirms they are set to have a team in South Africa’s new T20 league, Paarl franchise. pic.twitter.com/x25px1K2tQ

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The UAE T20 League and South Africa T20 League will always be played in the same window, and there has been a competition between both leagues in signing players. However, Smith has said they already have a strong core of their own players, so they are not worried about signing the players.

Smith highlighted that UAE lacks the quality of the local players, and they will only depend on international talent. He insists that the main aim of the South Africa T20 League is to invest on the local players.

“The majority of the squads in the SA league will be made up of our own talent,” Graeme Smith said to the Times of India.

“We have a rich player base that we focused on investing in.”