'Looking forward to teaming up with good friends' - Eoin Morgan 'unbelievably excited' for inaugural SA20

Former England captain Eoin Morgan will be taking part in the inaugural edition of the SA20 next year alongside his mates Jos Buttler and Jason Roy. Morgan retired from international cricket in June this year, but he still has been playing in various T20 leagues. The 36-year-old is all set to be part of the Paarl Royals and he will join his former team-mates Jason Roy and Jos Buttler. 

Ahead of the first edition of the tournament which starts on January 10, Morgan explained the excitement of teaming up with his friends again. "I can't wait. It is unbelievably exciting coming back to a country that I love playing in, and have played quite a bit in for the last 6-7 years," Morgan was quoted as saying by India Today.  

"To be teaming up with my very good friends, Jos Buttler and Jason Roy, is something I am looking forward to. But not only that, the tournament and the time of year, it allows us all to bring our families and share the experience of not only touring a beautiful country, but also playing cricket's most popular format," he added.

SA 20 creates domestic heroes: Eoin Morgan 

Morgan highlighted that the tournaments like SA20 will improve domestic talent in the country and explained his experience with other global tournaments. He further mentioned about the advantages of a country starting it's own franchise league and felt that the domestic players will be able to transform themselves into household names.  

"Some of the most exciting tournaments that I have played in, I have played in their inaugural year, things are very raw, things are very exciting, and one of the biggest attributes that a strong domestic tournament brings is an opportunity for domestic players to pit themselves against the very best and biggest names in the world.

"I envisage this tournament laying on that platform and what it creates actually is something that cannot be replicated in countries that don't have high profile tournaments. It creates domestic heroes. In countries that have strong T20 tournaments, or Hundred tournaments, you have players that don't necessarily get opportunities in international cricket but they become household names over the first couple of years," he added.