Dewald Brevis and Aiden Markram stole the spotlight at the SA20 2025-26 auction, breaking salary records with staggering bids from franchises eager to secure their services.
Brevis Becomes Most Expensive Buy
South Africa’s young batting star Dewald Brevis, who holds the nation’s highest individual T20I score, became the costliest player in SA20 history. The Pretoria Capitals (PC) acquired him for R16.5 million (approx US$945,000) after a heated bidding war that started with Joburg Super Kings (JSK) and Paarl Royals (PR).
PC eventually outbid JSK, using over half of their R32.5 million purse on Brevis alone.
“𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘,” 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅. “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎.”
Markram Joins Durban’s Super Giants
Just minutes before Brevis’ record-breaking deal, Aiden Markram, South Africa’s T20I captain and two-time SA20 title-winner with Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC), was bought for R14 million by Durban’s Super Giants (DSG).
Markram was initially contested by PC, and though SEC attempted to use their “right-to-match” card, they stepped aside when DSG pushed the bid higher. He is now tipped as a likely captain for the franchise.
“𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑,” 𝒂 𝑫𝑺𝑮 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”
Other Big Buys and Team Strategies
- Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) replaced Markram by appointing Tristan Stubbs as captain and added Anrich Nortje (R5 million), Marco Jansen, and several overseas recruits including Chris Wood and Lewis Gregory.
- MI Cape Town (MICT), defending champions, retained continuity by buying back Rassie van der Dussen (R5.2 million) and securing Reeza Hendricks for a bargain price of R500,000.
- Pretoria Capitals further strengthened with Lungi Ngidi, Reece Topley, and Imran Tahir, while Durban’s Super Giants built a balanced squad including Gerald Coetzee and Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam.
- Joburg Super Kings (JSK) invested heavily in Wiaan Mulder (R9 million) and retained left-arm quick Nandre Burger (R6.3 million).
Tough Day for Paarl Royals
The Paarl Royals (PR) had a difficult outing, often outbid in key battles. Their top signing was Kyle Verreynne for R2.3 million, alongside bowlers Ottneil Baartman and Gudakesh Motie. Despite missing out on frontline pacers, they filled gaps late in the accelerated rounds.
Notable Unsold Players
Several well-known names failed to attract buyers, including Andile Phehlukwayo, Junior Dala, Mustafizur Rahman, Kusal Perera, Jayden Seales, Jimmy Anderson, and Moeen Ali.
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