Ben Stokes, the England Test captain, has signed with MI Cape Town for the upcoming season of the SA20, joining Azmatullah Omarzai as the franchise’s marquee overseas signings. The duo will bolster a squad that includes Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Nuwan Thushara, and Chris Benjamin, who have been retained from the previous season.
MI Cape Town’s domestic contingent is equally impressive, featuring Kagiso Rabada, Dewald Brevis, Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton, and George Linde. They are joined by Delano Potgieter, Thomas Kaber, and Connor Esterhuizen, who have been added to the roster.
For Boult, this marks his fourth stint with a Mumbai Indians-owned team, having previously played for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, MI New York in MLC, and MI Emirates in the ILT20.
The SA20 franchises have been actively targeting top English Test players for the 2025 season, with Joe Root joining Paarl Royals, Ollie Pope signing with Pretoria Capitals, and Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes joining Joburg Super Kings and Durban’s Super Giants, respectively. Zak Crawley has been acquired by Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the two-time SA20 champions.
England’s Test tours to Pakistan and New Zealand in the winter of 2024-25 will conclude before Christmas, making English players available for the full duration of the ILT20 and SA20. The 2025 edition of the SA20 will run from January 9 to February 8.
Stokes’ England contract expires in September, and he has not played a white-ball game for England since the 2023 ODI World Cup. He is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, but is targeting a return for England’s Test tour of Pakistan in October.
If Stokes participates in the SA20, it will be a rare appearance for him in a franchise league. His previous IPL stints were disrupted by injuries, and he opted out of IPL 2024 to manage his workload.
