SA20’s league commissioner Graeme Smith has opened up on James Anderson’s desire to play franchise cricket, saying it “would be a big call at this stage of his career” to have him in the competition.
Last month, Anderson called curtains on his illustrious international career. He finished with 991 wickets across formats, the most by a fast-bowler and the third-most of all-time, only behind Shane Warne (1,001) and Muttiah Muralitharan (1,347).
Upon retiring, Anderson, 42, floated the idea of playing franchise cricket, having made his most recent T20 appearance a decade ago. Anderson hasn’t played white-ball cricket since 2019 and his last T20 match was for Lancashire in the 2014 final of the Blast.
Smith expressed the desire to have someone like Anderson in the competition for the next season, but at the same time mentioned that it would all depend upon the team combinations and whether he fits into any of them.
Speaking to Betway, the league's lead sponsor, Smith said: "Jimmy [James Anderson] is considering playing white ball cricket, and you know he’s fit and he’s still got the skills. He’s played a very limited amount of white ball cricket in the recent past, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have the ability to perform well.
"With Betway SA20, we are over the moon with how our squads are looking for Season 3. Each team has got proper squads together with big game performers in all six teams. Someone like Jimmy has always got to fit into the balance of the squad and what the team is trying to do."
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The former South Africa captain added: "Jimmy is a great name, you would love to have him, but at this stage of his career it’s a big call. It’s such a fine line between bringing in a massive name at the back end of his career or picking an up-and-coming youngster with so much promise that you can build with them for three years."
SA20 season 3 to include a galaxy of stars
The SA20 will enter its third season next year and is set to be played between January 9 and February 8, 2025. The six franchises have completed their pre-signings and retentions ahead of the auction in Cape Town on October 1.
Among the stars who have struck a deal are Dinesh Karthik, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan, Devon Conway, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Omarzai.
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