SA20 League: Kallis hopes young South Africa players will benefit from the tournament

Kallis will be an assistant coach to Graham Ford at the Pretoria Capitals, a team owned by Delhi Capitals co-owner JSW group.

Kallis certainly has the pedigree, not only as a former player but also as an experienced T20 coach that has spent time at the Indian Premier League in various roles.

The 47-year-old has seen first-hand the influence a successful T20 League can have on the national team’s fortunes, especially in terms of growing the depth of players available.

“I think South African cricket has been crying out for this for a long time. I think we’ve seen the wonderful job it’s (franchise league cricket) has done around the world in terms of how the local competition has improved cricket.

“I have no doubt it’s going to be the same here and everyone is looking forward to it. The standard will be very high,” Kallis said at the launch of the SA T20 league.

“Having international players and coaches is also certainly going to provide a good product. It is going to improve the young guys coming through,” he added.

The exposure SA20 will provide young players is also unrivalled in South African cricket with all 33 matches being televised live on SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, but crucially it will also be broadcasted to the passionate cricket audience in India

“With everything being televised, it’s a great opportunity for the guys to put their name out there, whether it be for international cricket or other leagues around the world.

What better stage for these young guys to put their hand up in this competition?” Kallis said.

The league will start with MI Cape Town and neighbours Paarl Royals (a Rajasthan Royals unit) locking horns at Newlands on January 10.

The SA20 will take place from January 10 to February 11, 2023, but it will be interrupted from January 25 to February 1 since South Africa will be hosting England for three World Cup Super League ODIs.

Six clubs are competing in the league: MI Cape Town, Durban Super Giants, Johannesburg Super Kings, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals, and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.