No Pakistani cricketer has been included in the list of 541 players shortlisted for the SA20 2025-26 auction, scheduled to take place on September 9 in Johannesburg, according to the league’s official release.
The list features around 300 South African players and 241 overseas players from various cricketing nations.
However, Pakistani players remain entirely absent for the second consecutive season, despite their widespread presence in T20 leagues across the globe.
All six SA20 franchises are owned by companies affiliated with the Indian Premier League (IPL), a factor widely seen as contributing to the continued exclusion of Pakistani talent from the competition.
Due to political and diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, Pakistani players have been barred from the IPL since 2008, and the SA20 appears to follow a similar informal precedent.
Franchise squads in SA20 are allowed to sign up to seven overseas players, with a total squad size of 19, including a minimum of nine South Africans and two local under-23 players.
While the auction pool includes high-profile names such as England’s Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, James Anderson, and Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, no players from Pakistan were named.
Only two Australians, D’Arcy Short and Peter Hatzoglou, have entered the auction, likely due to scheduling overlaps with the Big Bash League.
The SA20’s third edition is scheduled to run from December 26, 2025 to January 25, 2026, with six participating teams: MI Cape Town, Joburg Super Kings, Durban’s Super Giants, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Paarl Royals, and Pretoria Capitals.
Despite the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) having issued No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to several of its players for global franchise leagues, the lack of Pakistani representation in SA20 underscores the broader challenges facing the country’s players in accessing IPL-linked tournaments.