Brevis and Markram rule the roost in SA20 auctions as they earn record sums this time around from Durban and Pretoria.
Brevis and Markram earn record sums at SA20 2025-26 auction.
When Pretoria Capitals (PC) purchased Dewald Brevis, the player with the highest individual T20I score for South Africa, for R16.5 million (about US$945,000) during the auction on Tuesday night, he shattered the SA20 pay record.
Joburg Super Kings (JSK) launched the bidding on Brevis, whose base price was R500,000 ($28,500 approximately). Up until the R10 million mark, they were engaged in a heated battle with Paarl Royals (PR). When PC entered the competition, PR, who had only R14.5 million to enter with, chose to withdraw. JSK offered R16 million in a bidding war, but they gave up when PC increased it by R500,000. PC spent more than half of their R32.5 million available purse on Brevis.
Records tumble in 12 minutes
Twelve minutes after Aiden Markram, the two-time SEC champion and captain of South Africa’s T20I team, sold for R14 million to Durban’s Super Giants (DSG), Brevis became the second player to reach the R10 million milestone. DSG and PC fought it out in a fierce offer for Markram, and DSG won at R12.4 million. SEC used their authority to match cards, but Markram was released when DSG raised the price to R14 million. Markram might be a contender to lead DSG, whose previous captain Keshav Maharaj started the bidding process and was purchased by SEC for R1.7 million.
SEC’s strategy
With 14 player slots up for grabs, the double champions entered the auction seeking a new captain after losing Markram. Assistant coach Russell Domingo declared that even though they had acquired Matthew Breetzke, their most costly acquisition at R6.1 million ($350,000 approximately), Tristan Stubbs, the sole player they kept, would be the team’s leader. Breetzke will rejoin with Quinton de Kock, his old DSG teammate, who was acquired for a relatively low price of R2.4 million ($137,000 approx.) and is also a captain, albeit a reluctant one.
MI Cape Town’s smart buys
With the smallest purse of R11.5 million ($656,000 approx.), the defending champions MI Cape Town (MICT) spent nearly half of it to get back batter Rassie van der Dussen, for whom they paid R5.2 million ($298,000 approx.). They retained Dane Piedt and Tristan Luus and acquired Reeza Hendricks for a steal of R500,000 ($28,500 approximately). They will enter Season 4 with a team that is most similar to their last one.
Best of the Rest
Although it makes sense that a successful club would value stability, those who have struggled would disagree, and for PC, DSG, and JSK, it was all change.
With quicks like Kwena Maphaka and Gerald Coetzee (about R7.4 million to $420,000), all-rounder Eathan Bosch, and international Test batsman David Bedingham and Tony de Zorzi, DSG skilfully assembled their team. They included Taijul Islam of Bangladesh in addition to Noor Ahmad and Sunil Narine, who were already on their books prior to the auction.
In order to retain left-arm quick Nandre Burger, JSK paid R6.3 ($360,000 approx.) and R9 million ($513,000 approx.) on Johannesburg-based all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, who has excelled in all formats for South Africa. Burger was unable to participate last season due to lower back stress fractures, therefore JSK is hoping he can contribute at the Wanderers.
The fact that JSK required nine players with R3.60 million left and PR needed eight players with only R3.18 million left when they reached the accelerated round shows how tough the first four and a half hours of the auction were for them. Kyle Verreynne, whose base price was R200,000 and which PC matched, was PR’s most costly acquisition. PR went above and beyond and paid R2.3 million, or roughly $131,00, for him. Additionally, they acquired Gudakesh Motie and Ottneil Baartman, whose bowling techniques ought to fit Paarl’s slow, low pitch.