Sky Sports to show South Africa T20 competition in five-year rights deal

Sky Sports have announced a new five-year rights deal to show the South Africa T20 cricket league.

Beginning on January 10, the SA20 league will run for four weeks and comprises 33 matches involving six global franchises and will be broadcast across Sky Sports Cricket channels for the first time.

Members of England’s T20 World Cup-winning squad including captain Jos Buttler and Sam Curran, now the most expensive Indian Premier League player, will be among the 102 world-class players involved.

The six teams will play each other twice in a round-robin stage before the semi-finals and final, live on Sky Sports.

SA20 has the backing of some of the most recognised T20 franchises in the world, with several IPL strongholds branching out to establish an even greater international footprint.

“We are thrilled to add the SA20 to our portfolio of cricket rights,” Sky Sports director of cricket Bryan Henderson said.

“We believe it will be a terrific competition with some of the best English players involved.”

The SA20 is welcomed to Sky Sports as a new leading event on the world T20 cricket schedule, enabling access for both current, new and a younger generation of cricket fans to watch some of the greatest players perform on the global stage.

Sky Sports will also broadcast the three England men’s one-day internationals taking place in South Africa on January 27 and 29, and February 1. BCS Bureau