SA20’s fourth season expected to begin on Boxing Day as league announces windows for next three seasons going into 2028.
SA20’s fourth season is set to kick off on Boxing Day 2025.
ext three issues before to the playoffs this season. Since South Africa has no home Test matches scheduled for the 2025–2026 summer, it was conceivable to move the league’s start date to Christmas week, which is prime time in the South African cricket calendar.
Seasons five and six, which will run five to six days longer than the current one, will resume their second-week-of-January premieres, most likely starting on January 9 in 2027 and 2028. CSA affirmed that the dates listed were windows within which the league will be played rather than precise start and end times.
Before heading back home for the SA20, which ends on January 26, South Africa will travel to India for an all-format tour in November and December of 2025–2026. The T20I series between South Africa and the West Indies follows.
Given that the Ashes are in Australia through January 8, starting the SA20 on Boxing Day would affect player availability. One player who will most likely miss the start the next time is Joe Root, who finished third this season in terms of most runs before the playoffs.
There will still be a big clash with the Bangladesh Premier League and the Big Bash League in Australia, both of which typically start in December, but moving up to the next season should make it easier for players to compete with the ILT20. For their first three seasons, the two tournaments ran side by side, virtually from beginning to end.
“Confirming the Betway SA20 window for a three-year period allows the League to bring certainty to all stakeholders and assists in securing our place when planning the global calendar,” SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith said. “We know fans respond particularly well to weekend and holiday fixtures, and with the ICC T20 World Cup in early February next year, our Season 4 dates provide the unique opportunity to capitalise on South Africa’s peak cricket season and key public holidays.
“Early planning has also meant that we are able to look at an extended window from 2026-27 and this will optimise scheduling, logistics and the fan experience.”