SA20 Commissioner Graeme Smith during the Betway SA20 Captain’s day prior to the start of season 4. Held at the Westin Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa on the 23rd December 2025. (Photo credit: Shaun Roy / Sportzpics for SA20)

TimesofIndia.com in Durban: SA20 is in the middle of its fourth edition and the league commercially is having its best edition till date. The stadiums are full, investors are happy and the league is growing from strength to strength with every match. With hundreds, hat-tricks, Super Over and tight contests, quality of cricket has been right up there and League Commissioner Graeme Smith is very happy to see the progress. In an interaction on the sidelines of a fixture in Durban, the former South Africa captain opens up on the commercial success, support of IPL franchises, role of Cricket South Africa and more.

Excerpts:

This season has been very unlike in the past in terms of rain interruptions. Has that been a challenge?

I think firstly, we’ve seen growth in the first two weeks. Viewership, crowd attendance, atmosphere, and cricket has been good. So I think that was really exciting. Unfortunately, you can’t always predict these things, and when these unseasonal types of fronts come through certain parts of South Africa, it’s a challenge, especially when you’ve got a game a day and you’re moving around the country. But I think right now we’ve just got to stay positive. There’s a lot of cricket still left to be played. We’re only halfway really in the season.And the tension and the atmosphere, and I can just feel in the mind of people that are talking, wanting to come to games. Even one or two washed out games, watching how the crowds haven’t left, it shows you that the product I think has really stepped up another level this year.

SA20 League Commissioner Graeme Smith during an event ahead of Season 4 of SA20, South Africa’s premier T20 franchise league, in Mumbai.

As a League Commissioner and administrator, what markers do you look at to evaluate success.

I don’t know if I like the word administrator, but, you know, I mean, obviously we’re always following metrics. I think for us, ticketing is a big one. So we’ve seen a big increase in ticketing. I think we’ve four more sold-out games already than we were at the same point last year. Over 27 or 28% increase in ticketing in the first half of the season. Viewership is up in India, viewership is up here.Digital growth is up. The other metrics that’s important for me is always got to be the cricket. The pitches have been slightly better on a consistent level than they were last year. We’ve seen closer games, super overs, hundreds, hat-tricks, and, a number of last over finishes. For me the quality of cricket has been excellent this year. I’m hoping that over the next two weeks we’ll really see the same or even get better.

Do you think the SA20 now needs more teams from next season?

I don’t know if it requires it. The decision’s got to be that it’s got to add value. Outside IPL, we’ve seen other leagues get bigger and struggle, over longer periods. We also work very closely with Cricket South Africa on the future tours programmes and making sure that there’s enough international cricket happening around the SA20. There’s definitely interest in being a part of the league.

SA20 League Commissioner Graeme Smith during an event ahead of Season 4 of SA20, South Africa’s premier T20 franchise league, in Mumbai.

That’s not the issue. The issue is just what is right for the league going forward and when is the right time to add more teams. After the 27 World Cup, you know, the FTP, then it’s a little bit easier to work with. There’s more, space to work and manoeuvre if you want to grow the number of games, extend the league by another 20 games. You need another two, three weeks or whatever it is. I think post 2027 27, in the new cycle, we’ll work with Cricket South Africa and see what’s the best way forward.

SA20 has got global attention, what are the plans to sustain momentum?

Look, that’s always the case. There’s always, in the southern hemisphere, a lot of cricket on the go. Just look at India now. Women’s Premier League starts and there’s an Indian vs New Zealand series. We’ve been up against the Ashes and all that sort of stuff. I think the one thing about being here since the beginning is we’ve always built that way.We’ve never had a clean window. We’ve always had to build up against ILT20 or against, a busy southern hemisphere. And I think we’ve proven to be successful in that climate. You know, so our brains don’t work like that. Our brains are focused on, like, developing the best product. Making sure that people enjoy it, that cricket’s competitive, that the fans are filling the stadiums and having a great time.And hopefully we get some great sunshine in the next two weeks to really help with that momentum. I think the game every day and close games, we see, when we have two or three good games close together, how you can feel the tension shift and change. And, hopefully we’ll get that run of games now.

(L-R) Mark Boucher, SA20 League Commissioner Graeme Smith, Paarl Royals player David Miller, Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis, former Australian cricketer Tom Moody, and South African cricketer Hashim Amla during an event as they gear up for Season 4 of SA20, South Africa’s premier T20 franchise league, in Mumbai.

How much impact does SA20 have on the social critical scenario of South Africa as a community builder?

Well, I mean, we have obviously our social partners like Laureus where we’re investing in communities. I think the most important thing is that we’re also delivering money back to Cricket South Africa, which flows into growing the game. We, as SA20, have invested in our own development programmes as well. So we have SA20 schools, which is girls and boys in our over 700 schools.And then from an economy perspective, last year we brought over R4 billion to the economy, created 8,500 jobs. So those are some really great metrics in a very young product. You know, we’re delivering almost a world event every year in this country. From that perspective, I think being just around four years old now, I think we’ve done some amazing work around the social aspect of South Africa.

Do you see SA20 has come to a stage where it is changing the lives of cricketers who are coming from backgrounds where they did not have money to play cricket. Now they are in, you know, SA20 playing. Say someone like Mokoena who was spotted.

Graeme Smith Commissioner of SA20 during match 14 of the Betway SA20 season 4 between Pretoria Capitals (PC) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) held at the Supersport Park Stadium in Centurion , South Africa on the 5th January 2026. (Photo Credit: Arjun SIngh / Sportzpics for SA20)

I mean, it’s great. I actually watched his interview last night. Just listening to him, his first experience bowling at the Wanderers in a high-pressure game, and he’s done extremely well. He’s been throwing the ball in some of the most high-pressure moments as a young man. It’s great to see him coming through last year. I think credit to our franchises that have really got behind the youth programme that we’ve tried. The rookies have started now in the U23. I think IPL franchises are good at attracting youth and backing them.I think we’ve seen that in India. We see it here as well. And, you know, a lot more players are getting an opportunity to be recognised on a global stage. I was looking at it the other day. Over 10 years, you know, the player salaries will probably be close to a billion rand, if you take it over the 10-year period. And that’s a huge, huge uplift in South African cricket ecosystem for players. I think now as a youngster coming through, the cricket dream or from a job perspective, it’s looking highly strong for youngsters that want to make it or play.

What has been the biggest challenge as a League Commissioner? Identifying and freezing a window?

We’ve been pretty consistent in our window. I think this year is an anomaly. We normally, every year we start at January 9 and 10 after the New Year’s Test match and we run for those couple of weeks after that. This year because of South Africa being in India up until the 20th of December and the World Cup in February and there wasn’t any international cricket in the window.

SA20 captain’s and league commissioner Graeme Smith with the trophy (SA20 | X)

So, it made sense for us to start slightly earlier. But outside that, our window will generally always be the same, depending on when the New Year’s Test match starts and run for a couple of weeks after that. In terms of plugs, I think for us, what we’ve realised is a lot of what we’ve done has been really good and it’s about making sure we hit those same markers every year. Obviously, they’re improving. I think we would love to see the pool of South African players get bigger.So, now we’re starting to see across the six teams that the South African group of players are getting really strong. If you want to start adding more teams and stuff into the future, you need to start looking at another 20, 25 high-quality players that make sure when we add new franchises that there’s enough depth to make sure that the league remains equally competitive. And then, you know, for us, commercially, we’re having our strongest year. You know, we’re seeing corporate South Africa get behind us. Global broadcasters as well. So, I think it’s about now just making sure you go from strength to strength.

With regards to the investors and the IPL team owners here in SA20, you reckon it was very important to have patience from them because they are coming from a big, giant league?

I think having six IPL franchises for us has been amazing. I know not every other league has all IPL, but for us it’s been amazing because they’re equally competitive, they want to win, they invest in players. They’re highly driven to be successful. I think they’ve also had the patience to learn. So, when they move into a new region, they’ve had to learn about South Africa, learn about ticketing, hospitality, the way fans operate, you know, the culture as well.

Graeme Smith during match 15 of the Betway SA20 season 4 between MI Cape Town (MICT) and The Joburg Super Kings (JSK) held at the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa on the 6th January 2026 (Photo credit: Ron Gaunt / Sportzpics for SA20)

But they’ve brought excellence to South African cricket, and that has been a huge asset. They bring excellence to the table and they push you. And that helps everyone get better.

One of the most important success factors of the new franchise leagues is the presence of superstars from other countries. In the last four years, has the SA20 developed as a viable alternative for the global players?

Obviously these things, not being in a clean window, are always FTP-related. You know, like Ben Stokes was under contract, but the Ashes is happening, he doesn’t come back, he gets replaced. And a poor owner, right. So, I think what you want is for those top players in your window to, if they’re not playing international cricket, to want to be here.And I think that’s the message we’re getting back from them. That they really love coming here, it’s highly competitive cricket. Obviously, it’s a great place to be over the summer, and there’s crowds, and it’s fun. Hopefully, also credit to the franchises. I think they play a huge role in attracting the international talent as well.

Sourav Ganguly is head coach of Pretoria Capitals this season. How has it been having him around?

No, we hope to get more and more, you know. There’s some great friends that we have in India. And like I say, we’ve worked closely with the BCCI as well.

Former cricketer Sourav Ganguly at an event, in Kolkata, West Bengal.

They’ve been really supportive in helping us make some key decisions over the years in terms of building the product. But, you know, to have Dada, you know, is a highlight. And I know, having chatted to him a number of times through the year, how seriously he’s taking this, and he wants to do well.He’s a competitive man. With the Capitals franchise, he has a big influential role. Now, coaching, so he’s put himself in the hot seat. I hope the rest of the season goes well for him. It’s been a huge asset to have people like him, Kumar Sangakkara, Stephen Fleming come out here for our players and also for the status of the league.

Keeping the game and the league clean. Has that been a big area of attention?

You can’t control everything. We do invest a lot of money in making sure that our anti-corruption units are strong, working with the ICC, best practise. We’ve had a very strong anti-corruption team here. We educate players on everything… We’ve seen a strong influence in the drug-free sport.We’ve seen anti-corruption. So we do all the educational stuff pre-tournament, constantly follow up on it. Make sure there’s good policing units around. And you’re right. It is a risk to your league. So that’s why we spend a lot of money making sure that we’re doing everything we can to protect the integrity of the game.

Do you see on the horizon where an exhibition match or two, three matches, like women’s SA20 getting started some way?

I do. I really do. I’ve said over the last few years, Cricket South Africa started a domestic women’s programme, I think it was two years ago. We’ve invested in the schools and, you know, trying to grow the depth of the women’s game here. You know, I think how it starts, I’m not sure yet. I think that’ll be a bit, you know, the Cricket South Africa CEO has come out and said that it’s time now. So, I think post this tournament, we will all sit down and figure out what that step looks like. But absolutely, it will be one of the major discussions post season four.