Jon-Jon Smuts and Simon Harmer are the first players to be traded ahead of season 2 of the Betway SA20 League, as teams look to finalise their squads ahead of the 31 July trading deadline.
Smuts has moved from inaugural champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, to Durban’s Super Giants, with Harmer swapping Kingsmead for St George’s Park.
All South African players were signed on multi-year contracts at the inaugural auction last year, but the trading window allows teams to trade or retain players ahead of the 31 July deadline. Teams have been strategically working behind the scenes in order to finalise their purse, which has been increased to R39.1 million per team for Season 2, ahead of the second auction scheduled for late September.
Smuts’ initial auction fee of R2.3 million will now be taken over by DSG, while SEC will be responsible for Harmer’s R200 000. The Super Giants have looked to bolster their batting unit with the power of Smuts considering his success for the local domestic franchise, Hollywoodbets Dolphins, in Durban. The big-hitting Smuts was also the Sunrisers’ third-highest run-scorer in Season 1 with 202 runs at an average of 28.85, which included two half-centuries.
We’re excited to onboard JJ as we look to better our performances from last season in 2024 and are confident that he can play a pivotal role for us going ahead. We also wish Simon all the best for all his future endeavours.
