The SA20 league’s 2026 season is set to begin on December 26th. The auction list for this tournament includes numerous players, with James Anderson, the experienced English fast bowler, also registering his name. This could mark Anderson’s debut in the SA20 tournament. With six franchises participating, the bidding for James Anderson will be a major point of interest. The auction is scheduled for September 9th in Johannesburg.
13 Indian players have been included in the auction list for the SA20 2026 season. These players are Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla, Siddharth Kaul, Mahesh Ahir, Anureet Singh, Saral Kanwar, Nikhil Jaga, KS Naveen, Mohammad Faiz, Imran Khan, Atul Yadav, Ansari Maroof, and Venkatesh Gelipele. Among these, the veteran spinner Piyush Chawla has the highest base price at 50 lakh rupees, while Imran Khan’s base price is 20 lakh rupees. The base price for the other Indian players is 10 lakh rupees each.
The base price for James Anderson has not yet been reported. Anderson recently returned to T20 cricket after 11 years, participating in the T20 Blast 2025 for Lancashire. In the T20 Blast, Anderson took 17 wickets in 9 matches with an average of 14.70. He also played two matches for Manchester Originals in the Men’s Hundred 2025 but did not take any wickets.
South African fast-bowling legend Dale Steyn recently expressed his views on James Anderson, saying, “Even if I were not a coach of any team, I would definitely include James Anderson in my team. I hope that some franchise will surely include him in their team.”
The experienced fast bowler has entered his name in the auction for the first time in this tournament. The SA20 promises exciting matches among the six franchises, with all eyes likely on James Anderson, given his extensive experience in T20 cricket.