SEC vs MICT Dream11 Prediction: 3 players you can pick as captain or vice-captain for today’s SA20 match – January 9, 2025
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) and MI Cape Town (MICT) face off in the curtain-raiser of the third edition of the SA20 on Thursday, January 9, at St. George's Park in Gqeberha.
SEC are the defending champions coming into this season, having won both editions of the SA20 so far. Led by Aiden Markram, they'll look to record a hat-trick of title wins and stamp their authority early in the league.
However, their first match should prove to be a tough challenge as they go up against a rejuvenated and revamped MI Cape Town side that will desperately want to deliver on the promise their squad has on paper.
Led by Rashid Khan and filled with stars like Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Ryan Rickelton, and new signing Reeza Hendricks, they will look to move past their bottom-place finishes in the first two seasons in SA20 2025.
This promises to be an exciting and thrilling encounter. Let's now look at the top three Dream11 captaincy picks for this one.
#3 Ryan Rickelton (WK) (MICT)
Form is a crucial factor in cricket and Ryan Rickelton, fresh off a swashbuckling 259 in the Cape Town Test against Pakistan, is arguably one of the most in-form batters in the world. The highest run-scorer of last season's SA20, Rickelton smashed 530 runs in ten matches, averaging nearly 60, at a stellar strike rate of 173.77.
The wicket at St. George's Park in Gqeberha isn't the best for batting, and that's the only reason Rickelton isn't ranked higher on this list. However, with his role as an opener and a wicket-keeper allowing him to score points for factors such as boundaries, strike rate, and dismissals behind the stumps, he could be a solid Dream11 captaincy option.
#2 Ottneil Baartman (BOWL) (SEC)
Ottneil Baartman's bowling was one of the main reasons for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape's successful title defense last season. The Proteas seamer exhibited great skill and guile with the ball, operating both in the powerplay and at the death.
His terrific record of 18 wickets in only eight matches last term at an excellent bowling average of 11.78 and an economy rate of 6.95 is almost unbelievable for a pacer in T20 cricket!
He has a great record at this venue, picking up 14 wickets in only six games, and while he has been a tad expensive, that matters very little from a Dream11 perspective. A bit of a differential captaincy option, handing Baartman the armband could see your team rocket up the leaderboards in tonight's fixture.
#1 Marco Jansen (ALL) (SEC)
Another in-form South African star, Marco Jansen comes into the third edition of the SA20 after winning the 'Player of the Series' award in the two-Test series against Pakistan. The seam-bowling all-rounder's stocks in T20 cricket have quickly gone up, and he's definitely one of the contenders for the MVP in SA20 2025 already.
He led the Sunrisers' title charge last season, topping the wicket-taking charts with 20 wickets in only 10 games, also smashing 105 useful runs at a whirlwind strike rate of 177.96. He's a complete all-rounder with innumerable routes to points and is undoubtedly the best Dream11 captaincy pick in this fixture.