Franchise teams have started finalizing their preparations for the upcoming fifth season (SA20 2027) of South Africa's explosive T20 League (SA20). After the auction, the squads of all the teams have been completely finalized. Meanwhile, defending champion team Sunrisers Eastern Cape, owned by Kavya Maran, has made a major change in its squad. Australian captain and powerful all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will not be available for the initial matches, due to which the franchise has included the explosive batsman from England in the team as his temporary replacement. Why will Mitchell Marsh not play the opening match? Sunrisers Eastern Cape had included Australian captain Mitchell Marsh as a pre-signing ahead of the recently concluded auction. However, he will not be able to be a part of the initial matches of the schedule. The reason behind this is not any injury but his national and domestic cricket commitments. Mitchell Marsh is currently committed to his country's prestigious T20 league 'Big Bash League' (BBL). According to the official statement issued by the franchise, Marsh will join the Sunrisers Eastern Cape squad after completing his BBL responsibilities. Entry of England's star player Ben Duckett: To compensate for the absence of Mitchell Marsh in the initial matches, Sunrisers Eastern Cape has included England's aggressive batsman Ben Duckett in its team as a temporary replacement. Ben Duckett is known all over the world for his fast batting and his ability to score runs in the powerplay. With his arrival the team's batting order has become stronger. The most successful team of the league is Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Let us tell you that the fifth season of SA20 to be held in 2027 is expected to be very exciting. Sunrisers Eastern Cape has been the most successful and dominating team of this league so far. After winning the first two editions (2023 and 2024) consecutively, this franchise also performed brilliantly in the last season (2026) and won its third title. The team is continuously trying its best to maintain its dominance. Sunrisers Eastern Cape full squad Captain and wicketkeeper: Tristan Stubbs Key players and substitutes: Mitchell Marsh (Ben Duckett as temporary replacement) Other key players: Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Enrique Norkhia, Adam Milne, Marco Jansen, Craig Overton, Nandre Berger, Louis Gregory, Patrick Kruger, Sanuran Muthusamy, Lutho Sipamala, Matthew Breitzke, Michelle Van Buren, Rishad Hussain, and Jordan Harman.
