'There's a little rumour going around at the moment. I saw it on Instagram again this morning... could there be two more franchises added? So there was a little guy with a poster of Royal Challengers Bloemfontein. So who knows?'
South African pace bowling great Allan Donald on Friday hinted at the possibility of two new franchises joining the six-team SA20 league in near future.
The league is currently in its third season and Sunrisers Eastern Cape will play in a third successive final when they take on first-time finalists MI Cape Town on Saturday.
Backed by Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners, the SA20 has grown leaps and bounds since its inception, and currently comprises six teams.
"You know, there's a little rumour going around at the moment. I saw it on Instagram again this morning... could there be two more franchises added? So there was a little guy with a poster of Royal Challengers Bloemfontein. So who knows? I mean, we'll see what pops up at the end of the year," SA20 ambassador Donald said during a virtual media interaction ahead of Season 3 final.
Lauding IPL veteran Dinesh Karthik's involvement in the ongoing edition of the league, Donald hoped more players from India would join SA20 in coming years and expressed his desire to see the peerless Jasprit Bumrah and batting maestro Virat Kohli in action in this event.
"Well, you know, it's not for me to decide. Obviously, BCCI is the strongest cricket board in the world. I think it would be great to see younger and more talented guys. You know, you've got your established guys, you've got your Rohit Sharma, who's done it, who's been around for long.
"If there's some Indian cricketers keen to play in the SA20, wow, it would be amazing. This league would grow and grow exponentially," he said.
"Will we see some more Indian cricketers coming to our shores and be part of SA20? I sat in the first year and I thought this is a massive competition. The second year was even bigger. And this year we're reaching heights greater than what we have seen before."
Nicknamed the 'White Lightening' for his ability to bowl at great speeds in his heyday, Donald added, "It would be great, there's no doubt about that. If Indian cricketers are available, I'm sure that Greame Smith and his team would definitely grab that chance."
Coming back to Karthik, who this year became the first Indian player to feature in SA20 by appearing for Paarl Royals, Donald said while he may not have set the stage ablaze with his batting, the veteran has made significant contributions off the field.
"I was with him at Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016. He was a serious player and I think this year we saw bits and pieces of the quality that he can produce with the Paarl Royals.
"I'm very good friends with head coach Trevor Penney, and Trevor was telling me that the work that DK has done off the field has been unbelievable. I don't think we've seen the best of DK. He sort of made some significant scores when it really mattered, especially here in Paarl when the ball turned a lot on a very slow pitch," Donald said.
Donald added, "There's a lot of South African cricketers that see the Indian guys as their heroes. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, you name them, they all want to see them here in the league."
When it comes to franchise cricket, Donald has no doubt that IPL continues to reign supreme but said the SA20 "has the potential to run" for many years.
"You just feel that this event is huge. It just feels like everything, it almost feels like you're at a World Cup, you know, a T20 World Cup. I mean, everything about it is magnificent.
"He's (SA20 commissioner Smith) absolutely spot on when he says that now they have got the right T20 model and moving forward. We're all looking forward to, obviously, it's a mad month. It's a mad month," he said.
"It's a hustle. It's travelling. But the quality of cricket that's being played, the quality of cricketers that is on show, the quality of overseas players that has stepped up with their teams is nothing less than world class."
Donald, who is also the bowling coach of Durban Super Giants this year, added, "The overseas players are mixing with our young cricketers, who are learning so quickly from these big guys. It really is magnificent. So look, this is a big deal. I can categorically say, and I say that very proudly as a South African, this is a big deal.
"And it's got an even bigger deal to go over the next 10, 20 odd years to come. I'm blown away by what I've experienced.
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