South African champions to play in Duleep Trophy

South Africa's SuperSport Series winners in 2005-06 will play in next year's Duleep Trophy in India.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has invited us to send a suitable team to compete," South African board chief executive Gerald Majola told reporters. "The invitation comes after talks I had on the subcontinent recently with the Asian Cricket Association on forging closer links with Africa and South Africa.

"The invitation is for us to send a team to compete for an initial three-year period, starting with the October 2006 tournament. We believe that competing against India's top zonal teams will add considerable value to raising the standards even higher in our franchise cricket."

The Duleep Trophy consists of six teams, divided into two pools, who play each other in four-day matches. Five of the competing teams are Indian, the sixth from overseas.