Sports News | There Was a Little Guy with Poster of Royal Challengers Bloemfontein: Donald Drops a Hint
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. South African pace-bowling great Allan Donald on Friday hinted at the possibility of two new franchises joining the six-team SA20 league in near future.
New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) South African pace-bowling great Allan Donald on Friday hinted at the possibility of two new franchises joining the six-team SA20 league in near future.
The league is currently in its third season and Sunrisers Eastern Cape will play in a third successive final when they take on first-time finalists MI Cape Town on Saturday.
Backed by Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners, the SA20 has grown leaps and bounds since its inception, and currently comprises six teams.
"You know, there's a little rumour going around at the moment. I saw it on Instagram again this morning... could there be two more franchises added? So there was a little guy with a poster of Royal Challengers Bloemfontein. So who knows? I mean, we'll see what pops up at the end of the year," SA20 Ambassador Donald said during a virtual media interaction ahead of Season 3 final.
Lauding IPL veteran Dinesh Karthik's involvement in the ongoing edition of the league, Donald hoped more players from India would join SA20 in coming years and expressed his desire to see the peerless Jasprit Bumrah and batting maestro Virat Kohli in action in this event.
"Well, you know, it's not for me to decide. Obviously, BCCI is the strongest cricket board in the world. I think it would be great to see younger and more talented guys. You know, you've got your established guys, you've got your Rohit Sharma, who's done it, who's been around for long.
"If there's some Indian cricketers keen to play in the SA20, wow, it would be amazing. This league would grow and grow exponentially.
"Will we see some more Indian cricketers coming to our shores and be part of SA20? I sat in the first year and I thought this is a massive competition. The second year was even bigger. And this year we're reaching heights greater than what we have seen before."
Nicknamed the 'White Lightening' for his ability to bowl at great speeds in his heyday, Donald added, "It would be great, there's no doubt about that. If Indian cricketers are available, I'm sure that Greame Smith and his team would definitely grab that chance."
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)