SA20, ILT20 franchises target England Test players

England's Test players are being lined up to play in the ILT20 and the SA20 at the start of 2025, after missing the second seasons of both leagues due to their tour to India. Joe Root was unveiled as a new signing by Paarl Royals on Friday, and ESPNcricinfo understands that franchises have expressed interest in several other Test players.

The Telegraph reported on Friday that Ben Stokes, who has not played a limited-overs international since the 50-over World Cup, has been offered a substantial contract to play for MI Cape Town. Stokes skipped the T20 World Cup to ensure he was fit to bowl in Test cricket this summer and has not publicly addressed his England future as a white-ball player since.

Rob Key, England's managing director, admitted last year that a lucrative offer made to Mark Wood by Dubai Capitals prompted his decision to give players multi-year central contracts, and players and their representatives may look to use similar offers as leverage. Stokes' England contract is due to expire at the end of September after he turned down a three-year deal last year.

While England are due to play both T20I and ODI series in India at the start of next year, both of their winter Test tours - to Pakistan in October and New Zealand in December - will be over before Christmas. It means that players who are not involved in those limited-overs squads will be available to play full seasons at the ILT20 or SA20.

Like Stokes, it is unclear whether Root is in England's plans for next year's Champions Trophy in Pakistan, but he has not played a T20 international since 2019. He should therefore be available to Paarl for the vast majority of the SA20 even if he is picked for the three-match ODI series in India, which starts on February 6.

The two leagues in the UAE and South Africa have backing from Indian investors and have transformed the franchise landscape in the past two years by offering lucrative salaries to overseas players during the southern-hemisphere summer. Both are due to run from the second week of January until early February in 2025.

Jamie Smith, who made his Test debut last week, has already been retained by Gulf Giants in the ILT20 and was the subject of interest from Pretoria Capitals in the SA20. Like Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, Smith also has ambitions to secure a place in England's white-ball set-up but will be able to fall back on a month of franchise cricket if he fails to do so.

Root had played for Rajasthan Royals - the IPL franchise who bought the Paarl franchise two years ago - in the 2023 IPL. Their global director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara said in a press release on Friday that they would use "his experience, his personality, his brains and also his performances on the field" during the SA20, after reaching the Eliminator in 2024.

"We all know what a phenomenal player Joe Root is, and to have him back at the Royals is a great feeling," Sangakkara said. "He has been a great contributor to all the teams he has represented over the years, and has also proven to be a valuable all-rounder with his bowling and fielding attributes."