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Donald opined that the experience young South Africans pick up from such an international event would prove to be invaluable and predicted steady growth for the league in the upcoming decades.
Allan Donald. (X)
The SA20 league has grown exponentially since its inception and the ambassador Allan Donald dropped hints over the possibility of two new sides in the fourth edition of the T20 tournament.
The event has the backing of the super-successful Indian Premier League, the premier event of its kind, and has grown leaps and bounds in its three seasons so far.
“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?” Donald said.
“I mean, we’ll see what pops up at the end of the year,” the legendary South African seamer said.
The 58-year-old pacer also added that he would be delighted if Indian cricketers could make their way to the league, which would further boost the profile of the tournament.
“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,” the ‘White Lightning’ said.
“If there’s some Indian cricketers keen to play in the SA20, wow, it would be amazing. This league would grow and grow exponentially,” he said.
Donald testified to witnessing the growth of the league first-hand and lauded the participation of veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik who became the first Indian to feature in the South African competition.
“Will we see some more Indian cricketers coming to our shores and being 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,” Donald said.
“It would be great, there’s no doubt about that. If Indian cricketers are available, I’m sure that Graeme Smith and his team would definitely grab that chance,” he added.
“I was with Karthik at Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016. He was a serious player and I think this year we saw bits and pieces of the quality that he can produce with the Paarl Royals,” the legendary seamer stated.
“I’m very good friends with head coach Trevor Penney, and Trevor was telling me that the work that DK has done off the field has been unbelievable. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of DK. He sort of made some significant scores when it really mattered, especially here in Paarl when the ball turned a lot on a very slow pitch,” Donald said.
“There’s a lot of South African cricketers that see the Indian guys as their heroes. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, you name them, they all want to see them here in the league,” Donald said.
Donald also touched upon the quality of the event despite the break-neck speed of the tournament and the toll it takes on the players.
“You just feel that this event is huge. It just feels like everything, it almost feels like you’re at a World Cup, you know, a T20 World Cup. I mean, everything about it is magnificent,” the former pacer said.
“Smith absolutely spot on when he says that now they have got the right T20 model and moving forward. We’re all looking forward to, obviously, it’s a mad month. It’s a mad month,” Donald, who is also the bowling coach of Durban Super Giants this year, added.
“It’s a hustle. It’s travelling. But the quality of cricket that’s being played, the quality of cricketers that is on show, the quality of overseas players that has stepped up with their teams is nothing less than world-class,” he continued.
Donald opined that the experience young South Africans pick up from such an international event would prove to be invaluable and predicted steady growth for the league in the upcoming decades.
“The overseas players are mixing with our young cricketers, who are learning so quickly from these big guys. It really is magnificent. So look, this is a big deal. I can categorically say, and I say that very proudly as a South African, this is a big deal.”
“And it’s got an even bigger deal to go over the next 10, 20 odd years to come. I’m blown away by what I’ve experienced,” he concluded.
