The new T20 league for the CSA will begin in January and February of next year, and it will be overseen by Graeme Smith, a former captain and opening batsman for South Africa.
“Smith brings with him tremendous experience and understanding of the game, having worked in the sport as a player, captain, commentator, ambassador, consultant and more recently as Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) Director of Cricket (DoC),” CSA said in a media release.
“His understanding of the game will add tremendous strength to the League. Recognised for his leadership qualities and decisive, clear thinking, Smith will lead the League which, outside of CSA, has SuperSport as one of its major shareholders,” the release added.
Smith, who successfully managed South Africa in all three formats for ten years before taking over as the CSA’s director of cricket, will be in charge of every aspect of the league’s growth. By coincidence, in July, CSA made the decision to drop out of the ODI portion of the Australia tour in order to free up all of their players for the upcoming T20 competition.
“I’m extremely honoured to be entrusted with leading this exciting new venture. I’m deeply committed to South African cricket and happy to serve the game as best I can,” Smith said about his new role. (according to cricbuzz).
“I’m excited by the opportunity to deliver the new league which I believe will be an extremely competitive product, one that can bring the much-needed investment into the game and provide new opportunities for players around the world and more importantly to our SA home grown talent. The response from stakeholders has been very positive thus far and we’ve made great progress in the initial stages,” he added.