The SA20 2026 will start right in the middle of the holiday season. Soon after that, IPL 2026 will take place. It is very important to get noticed in the South African T20 league which will start on December 26, with the match between MI Cape Town and Durban’s Super Giants.
We shall now see five players whose performances in the SA20 tournament will affect their roles in the Indian Premier League.
Anrich Nortje
KKR had just 60 runs in four overs by the time Nortje had finished his spell, and there was a lot of talk about it. Then, due to an injury, he couldn’t play the entire 2025 season. Finally, Kolkata Knights Riders released Nortje. Lucknow Super Giants bought him for INR 2 crores in the auction. He is most likely to become the leading pace bowler for LSG. But since he is prone to injuries, he has to be fit for the two-month-long league. On the other hand, Nortje started his performance again in the CSA T20 Challenge picking up 11 wickets in 8 games. The 32-year-old didn’t have any impact in the recent T20Is against India, but he will want to change that in the SA20 2026 with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
Donovan Ferreira
The youthful all-rounder is going to be a part of the Joburg Super Kings’ team in SA20 for 2026 for the fourth year in a row. Conversely, after spending one season with Delhi Capitals, Donovan Ferreira will return to his old team, Rajasthan Royals, for the IPL 2026. Last year, he could not make it to the playing XI and scored a single run in his only match. The 27-year-old going back to his original team would be regarded as reinforcement to the middle-order and could also be taking up the role of a finisher. RR lost some close matches due to unavailability of a big hitter at the end of the innings. If Ferreira continues to have the same strike rate in the SA20 2026, he will definitely be part of the RR squad from the very beginning of the season.
Jordan Cox
The champions, RCB, have bought the English wicketkeeper-batter for his base price of INR 75 lakh. RCB must’ve had a clear intention of trying a backup gloveman and an overpowering option at the top of the order. However, with Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal already there, Cox’s position in the playing XI looks uncertain unless he proves his credentials in the SA20 2026. The 25-year-old is likely to start his season with Pretoria Capitals and maybe even his IPL debut.
Ryan Rickelton
Making his long awaited IPL debut, southpaw Ryan Rickelton did a fair job of getting the show on the road for Mumbai Indians in the last season. He looked like a perfect partner for Rohit Sharma and chipped in with 388 runs in 14 matches – with a strike rate that clocked in a healthy 151. At 29 he’s still going strong and will be back for his fourth season with the sister franchise, MI Cape Town in SA20 come 2026. This says a lot about the franchise’s faith in him – but don’t be surprised if they get really interesting when the competition for a spot in Rohit’s opening slot gets fierce with the five time champions snapping up another quality player in the name of Quinton de Kock who’ll be joining from Sunrisers Eastern Cape. That just leaves one spot for the other lefty to join Rohit.
AM Ghazanfar
Another Sunrisers Eastern Cape player who’s going to be donning the colours of Mumbai Indians when the 2026 IPL season kicks off is AM Ghazanfar. The Afghanistan bowler had a tough time last season as he was out of action for the whole season on account of an injury. Despite that, he still managed to get retained by MI – which now puts him on the radar in both SA20 and the IPL. With a record of 8 wickets in 9 ILT20 matches already under his belt for MI Emirates he’s got a lot to live up to. His stats in the ILT20 are certainly a strong endorsement of his talent, but if he wants to keep his spot in the XI come March 2026 he’s going to have to keep his form going on.
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