SA20 2023 start date confirmed for January 10

The six-team tournament will comprise of 33 matches

Elizabeth Botcherby | 03/10/2022 at 17:39

The start date for the inaugural SA20 has been confirmed, with the first fixture scheduled to take place on January 10, 2023.

The six-team tournament, South Africa's new T20 competition, will follow a double round robin format and comprise of 33 matches. The end date, likely to be February, is yet to be confirmed.

Its January start date means there will be considerable overlap with the 2022/23 Big Bash, which is scheduled to run from December 13 to February 4. 26 of the 61 matches which make up the Australian T20 tournament will coincide with the South African league.

bbl03102201

^{SA20 will overlap with the Big Bash [Kelly Defina/Getty Images]}

The first season of the UAE International League T20, a six-team franchise competition, is also expected to occupy a similar slot in the calendar.

The six teams involved in the 2023 edition of SA20 are Durban Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, with every team owned by an IPL franchise owners.

On September 19, the teams attended the inaugural SA20 auction to select their 17-strong squads for the 2023 season. Tristan Stubbs was the most expensive player at the auction, bought for around £460,000 by Sunrisers.