The SA20 2027 auction will take place in Johannesburg on 7 October 2026, with bidding starting at 8:30 PM IST. Four teams have 19 places to fill, and their budgets are very different. Here are the players available, each team’s remaining purse, the squad rules and how to watch the auction in India.
When is the auction, and where can you watch it?
The auction begins at 5:00 PM in South Africa, which is 8:30 PM IST on the same day. Although it takes place in 2026, the players are being signed for SA20’s fifth season in 2027.
Indian viewers can watch on JioHotstar. SA20’s official YouTube stream is available in other eligible territories, but India is excluded from that stream. South African viewers can follow the auction on SuperSport.
Which teams are bidding, and how much can they spend?
Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape will take part. Together, they have R35.025 million left to spend.
Durban’s Super Giants and Paarl Royals have already filled their 19-player squads, so neither will bid. The figures below are the money and places still available before the auction, after earlier recruitment.
| Team | Auction places remaining | Purse remaining |
|---|---|---|
| Joburg Super Kings | 6 | R20.6 million |
| MI Cape Town | 6 | R9.35 million |
| Pretoria Capitals | 5 | R1.475 million |
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape | 2 | R3.6 million |
| Durban’s Super Giants | 0 | Not participating |
| Paarl Royals | 0 | Not participating |
All amounts are in South African rand. The letter R does not mean Indian rupees.
Joburg hold about 58.8% of the combined auction money. That gives them more room to compete for a costly signing, although they still need to fill six places.
Pretoria face a tighter calculation. Dividing their R1.475 million purse across five vacancies gives an average of R295,000 per signing. That is a budget comparison, not a price limit for each player. Spending more on one purchase would leave less for the other four.
Which players are available?
The final shortlist contains 156 players, selected from 789 registrations. It includes 95 South Africans and 61 overseas players. Being shortlisted gives a player a chance to receive a bid; it does not guarantee a contract.
Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen and Wiaan Mulder are among the South African names available. Du Plessis and Mulder were released by Joburg, while van der Dussen was not retained by MI Cape Town.
The overseas options include Trent Boult, Jordan Cox, Rehan Ahmed, Reece Topley, Luke Wood, AM Ghazanfar and Shimron Hetmyer. That gives the bidding teams choices across batting, wicketkeeping, pace and spin.
Matthew Boast and Jason Rowles are also worth following in the Under-23 group. Joburg and MI Cape Town must each recruit at least one more qualifying young player, so these selections matter to squad completion as well as future development.
Which signings have teams already made?
Much of the recruitment happened before auction day. These are the teams’ announced pre-signings, with wildcard arrangements shown separately.
| Team | Pre-signings outside the wildcard category | Wildcard |
|---|---|---|
| Durban’s Super Giants | Sam Curran | Heinrich Klaasen |
| Joburg Super Kings | Jason Holder | Yet to be announced |
| MI Cape Town | Will Jacks | Kagiso Rabada |
| Paarl Royals | Azmatullah Omarzai | Joe Root |
| Pretoria Capitals | Phil Salt, Matthew Short | Andre Russell |
| Sunrisers Eastern Cape | Mitchell Marsh, Rishad Hossain | Marco Jansen |
These names should not be confused with auction purchases. For the wider squad picture, see our SA20 2027 retained players list.
Joburg’s six auction vacancies are separate from their unfilled wildcard position. They have until 30 December 2026 to announce that player.
How do the auction and squad rules work?
Each player has a reserve price, which is the minimum amount a team can sign him for. Bidding can take the final price higher.
The auction opens with marquee mixed sets, or groups of players put up for bidding. A nomination express round follows, allowing teams to request players they want to bid for. There are no Right to Match cards, so former teams cannot use that option to reclaim a player.
The squad requirements are:
- 19 players in total: 18 regular squad members and one wildcard.
- Overseas limit: no more than seven overseas players in the regular 18-player squad.
- South African places: at least 11 in that regular squad, including two qualifying Under-23 players.
- Salary cap: R42 million per team for Season 5, with the wildcard’s league fee outside that cap.
The league’s Under-23 category covers South African players aged 23 or younger on 16 January 2027. They can have previous SA20 experience and are selected through the regular auction rather than a separate draft.
A wildcard can be South African or overseas. Because this is a separate position, the seven-overseas-player limit above applies to the regular squad of 18.
What could decide a team’s auction?
A big purse helps, but the player must also fit a vacancy. Speaking to SA20 before the auction, former Paarl Royals coach JP Duminy highlighted leadership, batting positions and bowling options as important recruitment considerations.
That makes the balance of the final squad worth watching alongside the highest bid. A team needing an all-rounder may value his ability to cover two roles more than another specialist batter. Likewise, a required Under-23 signing cannot simply be overlooked while pursuing an established name.
When does SA20 2027 begin?
The season starts on 17 January 2027, when defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape host Pretoria Capitals at St George’s Park in Gqeberha. The final is scheduled for 21 February 2027.
The next step is to see how the four bidding teams use their remaining places. Auction prices and completed squads will only be confirmed as the sales are announced.
