CSA invite players for Mzansi Super League 2.0

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Monday invited applications from national and overseas players, including Kolpak cricketers, interested to compete in Mzansi Super League 2.0 (MSL 2.0).

The closing date to register is July 15. The teams will assemble from November 1 and the tournament will run till December 16, with the Grand Final.

There will be six competing teams and a total of 32 matches on a home and away basis, with each team having 16 players. The CSA unanimously approved that each team will have a minimum of three and a maximum of four overseas players. The South African board further stated that players will be centrally contracted by the league.

CSA Chief Executive Thabang Moroe in a statement said, "The time is now right for us to register players who would like to participate in MSL 2.0. We are already in the process of securing the services of the foreign and South African marquee players for our six franchises. In addition, all our Proteas contracted players will, barring injury, be available for the full duration of the league."

"We can look back on a highly successful first edition of the MSL which will be further enhanced as we roll out MSL 2.0. We now have the MSL established as a league that has its own place in the global T20 calendar and compares favourably with the other major ones of its type," Moroe said.

"The quality of cricket produced was excellent and our six franchises are now well-established brands. From this exciting start and with more time available for the all-important planning process we can only go from strength to strength," the CSA Chief Executive added.

Interested players will need to register by going to the CSA website and access the registration process through the relevant Mzansi Super League registration link. Overseas players will also need to submit a copy of their passports or other similar identification as part of the player registration process.

Players' applications will then be vetted and, after acceptance by the league, will be notified to complete and submit an Agreement to Enter the Draft (AED) on the same link, which will be a binding agreement to enter the draft.

An overseas player must be either a current or former international cricketer who has played at international level in the past 18 months and has a track record in domestic T20 tournaments around the world.

A 'Kolpak' player in the league will be considered as an overseas player. A Kolpak player is one who is eligible to play for South Africa under ICC eligibility rules but has declared his intention not to play for South Africa and is registered with Kolpak status in another country.