5 players whose salary in SA20 is more than in IPL

The brand new SA20 tounament begins on January 10 in South Africa. The competition promises to bring a revolution in South African cricket and boost the fan following of the sport in the rainbow nation. Interestingly, all six teams of the competition are owned by IPL owners.

Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants, SunRisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals own franchises in SA20. The six teams in South Africa's league are MI Cape Town, Jo'burg Super Kings, Pretoria Capitals, Durban's Super Giants, SunRisers Eastern Cape and Paarl Royals.

The player auction for the inaugural SA20 tournament happened a few weeks ago. Even the IPL 2023 auction is in the history books. While the salary cap of IPL is much bigger than South Africa's league, the following five players have a better salary in SA20 compared to that in the IPL.

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#1 Tristan Stubbs - Most expensive pick at SA20 Auction

Tristan Stubbs was the most expensive signing at the inaugural SA20 Auction. The young South African wicketkeeper batter earned a contract worth R 9.2 million (₹4.41 crore) from SunRisers Eastern Cape in the player auction.

Stubbs was unsold at the IPL 2022 Auction last year. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians signed him as a replacement for just ₹20 lakh. MI retained him for the same price in 2023, leading to a massive difference of ₹4.21 crore in his salary in the two competitions.

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#2 Donovan Ferreira

Donavon Ferreira is another young South African wicketkeeper batter to feature in the list. He's yet to play senior international cricket, but the South African player already owns a contract in two of the world's biggest T20 tournaments.

Jo'burg Super Kings went all out for Ferreira at the auction and signed him for R 5.5 million (₹2.64 crore). A few weeks later, Rajasthan Royals signed him for ₹50 lakh at the IPL 2023 auction.

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#3 Dwaine Pretorius

Pace-bowling all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius made his IPL debut last year for Chennai Super Kings. The four-time champions signed him for ₹50 lakh at the mega auction.

Pretorius earned a bigger deal at the SA20 auction, as Durban's Super Giants spent R 4.1 million (₹1.97 crore) for his services. He was the tenth most expensive signing at the auction.

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#4 Odean Smith

West Indies' hard-hitting all-rounder Odean Smith was one of the top overseas picks at the SA20 player auction. MI Cape Town spent R 1.7 million (₹81.54 lakh) for his services this season.

Smith had a big IPL contract in 2022, but his salary went down in 2023. Gujarat Titans roped him in at his base price of ₹50 lakh for the 2023 season.

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#5 Lungi Ngidi

Lungi Ngidi is one of the top fast bowlers in South African cricket. Paarl Royals shelled out R 3.4 million (₹1.63 crore) to sign him at the South African league auction.

Not many IPL teams were interested in his services though, as Delhi Capitals signed the right-arm pacer for just ₹50 lakh last season. DC have retained him for the same price in IPL 2023.

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Which of the five players will make the maximum impact in the IPL? Share your views in the comments section below.