5 superstar batters to watch out for in SA20 2024 ft. Aiden Markram
The SA20 2024 will start on January 10 at the St George's Park in Gqeberha. Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape will take on last edition's semifinalists Joburg Super Kings in the first match of the season.
The SA20 2024 auction happened a few months ago, with all six franchises stacking up their squads by signing some big names. A majority of the players were retained before the auction, but there were quite a few match-winners available for signing as well.
Batters hold the key to success for any team in T20 cricket. Multiple game-changers will be in action during the SA20 2024 tournament, and here's a list of five batters to watch out for.
#1 Aiden Markram, Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Aiden Markram was the third-highest run-scorer in the inaugural SA20 tournament. He led Sunrisers Eastern Cape from the front by scoring 366 runs in 12 innings at an average of 33.27.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape fans will expect their skipper to continue in the same vein in the second season of SA20. Markram is in top form, having smashed a hundred against India in the New Year's Test match last week.
#2 Faf du Plessis, Joburg Super Kings
Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis played a major role in his team's journey to the semifinals in SA20's season one. The Joburg skipper finished as the second-highest run-scorer of the competition, with 369 runs in just 10 innings.
Faf has not been active in international cricket, but he has been regularly playing league cricket across the world. All eyes will be on the stylish right-handed batter whenever the Super Kings take the field in SA20 2024.
#3 Dewald Brevis, MI Cape Town
Nicknamed as 'Baby AB', Dewald Brevis was left out of South Africa's T20I squad for the recent series against India. Brevis has a lot of talent, and he will be keen to return to the national team after having a stellar season with MI Cape Town.
Shedding some light on his numbers in SA20 2023, the youngster managed 235 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 117.5. It will be exciting to see how he performs for MI this year.
#4 Jos Buttler, Paarl Royals
Jos Buttler was the top run-getter in the inaugural edition of SA20. He finished at the top of the batters' leaderboard by aggregating 391 runs in 11 innings at an average of 39.10.
Despite Buttler's brilliance, the Royals could not win the SA20 championship. The wicketkeeper batter will aim to not only top the run charts in SA20 2024 but also lead his team to the trophy.
#5 Rilee Rossouw, Pretoria Capitals
Hard-hitting batter Rilee Rossouw did not have a great outing with the Pretoria Capitals in season 1. He scored only 202 runs in 12 innings at an average of less than 20.
The left-handed batter will try to justify the faith shown by the PC team owners as they retained him for SA20 2024. Rossouw will have the support of Theunis de Bruyn, Paul Stirling, Colin Ingram, and James Neesham in the batting department.