Graeme Smith: 'Would love to have more Indian players' in SA20

SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith "would love to have more Indian players" in their T20 league and it's something they will continue to work on with the BCCI. So far, former India batter Dinesh Karthik is the only Indian to have played in the SA20, having turned out for Paarl Royals in the last season.

The BCCI's current policy is such that no player active in Indian cricket - international, domestic or the IPL - can participate in overseas T20 leagues, which is why Karthik participated in the SA20 only after his retirement from Indian cricket. The league has a strong Indian connect as well, with all six teams owned by IPL team owners.

"Firstly, we would love to have more Indian players [in SA20]," Smith said in Mumbai on Wednesday. "I think whenever India play in South Africa, you can see the love for the Indian team. The talent is incredible. I think we will continue to work with the BCCI on these things. And I think if that ever changes with the six IPL franchises, I think we're perfectly suited to be able to attract Indian players. Those type of contracts with Dinesh signing with Paarl Royals is always a direct deal between the franchise [and the player]. And I think, obviously, with retired players and more retired players coming, it's a balance between attracting that retired Indian player but still keeping your league competitive. And our franchises really want to win, as you've experienced in IPL and in SA20. So they're always looking for the best players who can perform consistently."

The fourth season of SA20 will go on for a month from December 26, 2025 to January 25, 2026 across six cities. Even though South Africa mostly play the traditional Boxing Day Test from December 26 in their home season, this time that day will mark the start of their marquee T20 league. Last year, they had hosted Pakistan at the time, which saw a thrilling game that South Africa clinched by two wickets to seal their WTC final spot. In 2023, India had played the Boxing Day Test - also in Centurion - which the hosts won a lot more convincingly, by an innings and 32 runs. Barring in 2022, 2012, 2008, 2005 and 2001, South Africa have played the Boxing Day Test at home regularly since the start of this century, and before that too.

This time, South Africa will be in India for an all-format tour that begins with two Tests from November 14 and will culminate with the last of the five T20Is on December 19, with only a week's gap for the SA20 to begin. As Smith pointed out, there was no Boxing Day Test agreed upon in the FTP for this year by Cricket South Africa.

"Yeah, it's actually always been the case, though, in this cycle, that Cricket South Africa never had international cricket in this window," Smith said. "The South African team is here [in India] until 20 December. And then SA20 is now taking place there. And then there's the T20 World Cup here in India in February. So it was a very small window. And I don't think South African cricket ever had a tour lined up, never mind being WTC champions. I think this goes back years in terms of the FTP cycle."

Such is the crunch in the cricket calendar that only two days after SA20 ends in Cape Town, South Africa will host West Indies for a T20I series starting from January 27 in Paarl. Soon after that the T20 World Cup is set to begin on February 7 in India.

Smith also lauded the recent laurels in South African cricket, especially in ICC events over the last few years. The men's team won their first WTC, in June at Lord's this year, and recently the women's team made their first ODI World Cup final, finishing as the runners-up to India earlier this month. In 2024 and 2023 as well, South Africa had made the finals of the women's T20 World Cups.

Does that mean a women's SA20 is coming soon?

"In terms of women's cricket, we've spent a lot of time and effort investing in grassroots with Under-19 camps and schools programmes," Smith said. "I think Cricket South Africa is working on a domestic programme now. I think the challenge that South African cricket has is that our national women's team is very good, but the tier below needs to be developed. So we'll look at it probably from next season, obviously with women's IPL and national team schedules getting busier and busier. We'll probably look to start exhibition matches like IPL did."

CSA could take a leaf out of the BCCI's book, who started with a Women's T20 Challenge - like a mini women's IPL - in 2019 with three teams. That T20 tournament was played for two more years - in 2020 and 2022 - before the BCCI launched a five-team Women's Premier League in 2023.