Quite a few big names from the IPL are hoping to reinvent their careers at the SA20, whose third season starts today in Port Elizabeth.
Keshav Maharaj, the Durban Super Giants captain, was taken aback when Kane Williamson went unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction. Life hasn’t been the same for the New Zealand captain, once a batting mainstay at Sunrisers Hyderabad, since he hurt his knee fielding for Gujarat Titans at IPL 2023. Attempting a jaw-dropping catch near the boundary, Williamson landed badly on his knee, and as it would turn out, it was arguably one of the last times he would feature in the IPL. In 2024, he played just two matches for GT.
How much will Durban Super Kings and Paarl Royals will benefit from Kane Williamson and Dinesh Karthik respectively remains to be seen(AP)
Hence, it became quite a big deal when Williamson opted out of the New Zealand central contract last year and aligned himself with the SA20. As the tournament’s third season gets underway today, over the last few days, the NZ skipper could be seen putting the hard yards in the nets. He is coming off an impressive Test series against England, scoring 395 runs from three matches, looking as sparkling as always. At 34, the door may slowly shut in T20 cricket, but SA20 could be that little opening Williamson could use to prolong the inevitable.
“When I heard about it, I dropped him a DM. And I was surprised he replied to me considering the following that he has. With someone of his pedigree, he has won many a title for New Zealand and in franchise tournament. He is a leader; he is phenomenally skilled. And the best batter that I have ever bowled to in international cricket. Just the amount of time and the skill factor that he has. If you look at him, he is a condition-based batter. We signed him to suit our line-up and give it stability. We have a lot of power-hitting ability, but maybe last year, we didn’t have an anchor, and that’s where we saw his role,” Maharaj told The Hindustan Times during a chat on the sildelines of the Captains’ Meet on Wednesday.
What’s common between Williamson, Jonny Bairstow and Dinesh Karthik? At some stage, they all remained integral to their IPL team XIs before fading away. Of the 2128 runs Williamson has scored in his IPL career, 2101 have come representing SRH, including an Orange Cap-winning season in 2018. And if Williamson set the IPL on fire, the next year, the emergence of Bairstow proved to be a revelation as he and David Warner broke all sorts of records, including that for the once-highest opening stand in IPL history.
Six seasons later, Bairstow was another big name that went unsold at the auction, having emerged as a pre-signing for the Joburg Super Kings. He last played a Test in March, ODI in 2023, with Joburg captain Faf du Plessis pinning his hopes on Bairstow’s only format of conviction for the England wicketkeeper batter to prove a few points.
“We have a great batting depth. Someone like Jonny Bairstow, who has been an exceptional white-ball cricketer. I think he has got a lot to prove to English cricket as well as he tries to get back into the squad. When you get a guy like that who’s hungry and eager to perform, it’s always a very good place to be,” Du Plessis told The Hindustan Times.
What to expect from Dinesh Karthik
With SA20 showing all the promise in the world to become a beast of a T20 tournament in the coming years, it’s fitting that IPL veterans, with a full bag of experience behind them, are ensuring a fine balance of youth and experience among the six franchises. In fact, David Miller’s Paarl Royals comprises two cricketers with very contrasting IPL fortunes.
Karthik, who announced his retirement last year from all forms of cricket in June after wrapping up with Royal Challengers Bengaluru made an unexpected U-turn when he signed up to play in South Africa, becoming the first Indian cricketer to feature in SA20. There, he will be joined by Joe Root, who set a whole new level of curiosity. He is the only player from the fabled Fab Four who has never played an IPL game but was snapped up for Paarl for reasons explained by the skipper.
“We are looking forward to the year with those two particular players. For me, Joe Root adds a lot more than just success on the field. He’s got a heap-loads of experience and is obviously one of the best batters in the world ever, as we have seen in Test matches. I know it’s a different format. The solidness that he brings to the squad is what we need, especially in home conditions. We are going to use him very closely in our success. And even just as a person, he adds a lot more to the field with many youngsters very passionate about the game themselves. He has huge experience in that department in the growth of the game,” Miller told the Hindustan Times.
“DK has a wealth of experience. We’ve got a really young team and it’s exciting. Having Dinesh Karthik with us this year has been really special. I have known him for 12-13 years, including playing together for the Punjab Kings. It’s just nice to be playing with him, knowing that he’s quite the character and ambassador of the game. All the knowledge he can share of having played for so long with the young guys.”
