The inaugural edition of Cricket South Africa’s T20 League is all set to begin in January next year and the six franchises have already started working on player acquisition. Sunrisers Group-owned, Sunrisers Eastern Cape have also made a couple of signings as a start. They have signed star Proteas batter Aiden Markram who was a hit for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022.
The newfound franchise continued the trend of signing their respective IPL-bound players for their overseas ventures as well. Markram was the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s top scorer in this year’s IPL with 381 runs at an average of 47.62 and a strike rate of 139.05, including three half-centuries.
The second signing for SEC is Dolphins’ bowler Ottneil Baartman. The 29-year-old pacer is said to be a good prospect considering his bowling abilities in death overs. The right-arm pacer has represented Northern Cape in the CSA Provincial T20 Cup. He has cultivated a reputation for being a dependable death bowler and has claimed 41 wickets in 35 T20 matches at a frugal economy of 6.21.
The Port Elizabeth-based franchise announced the two signings on Wednesday as they tweeted “Announcing our first two #Risers. South Africa's T20I player of the year Aiden Markram & death-bowling specialist Ottneil Baartman join #SunRisersEasternCape”.
Notably, according to the guidelines of the CSA, all six franchises are allowed to sign up to five players prior to the inaugural auction. Among the five players, it is imperative that one South African international player and one uncapped South African player be included. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has stayed with its decision to not allow its players to participate in foreign leagues.