AB de Villiers backs the idea of new T20 league

South African ODI skipper AB de Villiers has come out in support of the Cricket South Africa’s new agenda. The CSA recently announced a new T20 league in South Africa that will run on the lines of the IPL and the BBL. The cricket board recently invited the bids for the 8 franchises that will be participating in the T20 league. The tournament is slated to get underway in late 2017. The key agenda behind the T20 league is to ensure the local players stay interested in the South African cricket.

This comes at a time when some of the local players were signing Kolpak deals and moving out of contention of international cricket. Now, the veteran Protea batsman AB de Villiers has backed the plan and mentioned that the move will help the youngsters be interested in the league.

“I am so excited about it. It is going to be great. Lots of credit to Cricket South Africa for coming up with that. It’s vital for our cricket. It will motivate some of the youngsters to stick around, to fight it through and to play for South Africa,” said AB de Villiers in a conversation with ESPNcricinfo.

He further added that he believes the tournament has the potential to match up with the prominent leagues like the IPL and the BBL. He looked absolutely excited for the new league. It will worth seeing how the tournament fares up and which players turn up for the new T20 league on the blocks. As AB mentioned, it is going to be good entertainment.

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“The domestic tournament is going to do wonders for out cricket and I think it can definitely come up (sic) an IPL when it comes to entertainment and quality of cricket. With some of the names that I have heard who are interested in coming over, it’s going to be fantastic,” he mentioned further.