Relationship with IPL owners put us in advantageous position to rope Indian players in SA20: Graeme Smith

Former South Africa cricketer and current SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith has expressed his belief that getting to involve Indian Premier League (IPL) owners into the SA20 puts the South African league at a much better position in world cricket recognition.

The SA20, which is running since January 2023, has been quite a success as South African cricket has come up well on world stage due to the same in terms of viewership and  Graeme Smith is quite satisfied with it.

We've Advantage Over Others: Graeme Smith keen on involving India into South Africa cricket

“We think we are perfectly positioned if the BCCI ever changes their mind. Obviously, the relationship with the IPL owners does put us at an advantage, but it’s still a BCCI decision,” the 42-year-old was quoted as saying in an interaction arranged by Sports18 and Jio Cinema.

One of the finest captains in Test cricket, Smith since the commencement of the SA20, has been extremely vocal about getting to involve Indian cricket by all means. However, he is very well aware that in India, contracted and domestic Indian players are not allowed to participate in any other T20 league except the IPL, and it remains a contentious issue.

Smith has been all praises of the IPL owners for willing to purchase teams in the SA20, which he believes has definitely ballooned the popularity of the SA20, given that the IPL is slowly growing to be one of the biggest and most successful tournaments around the world.

Also, Smith has stated that keeping BCCI's decision into view, he would always be more than ready to welcome Indian players to take active part in the SA20 in the near future. Resonating on his earlier comments of having Mahendra Singh Dhoni on-board, the former batter stated that he admires MS Dhoni to the core and would love to have the former India cricketer playing in the SA20.

“We will work with Jay (BCCI secretary Jay Shah) and everybody else, and if they decide that there should be a change in the policy, then we will talk to them about it. Our relationship with BCCI is good. We would always work with them, but it’s ultimately their decision how they manage their players. I think MS is a great friend of South African cricket and we would welcome him with open arms if he decides to come. We ran into each other at the airports a couple of times. I think right now he is focused on doing well for Super Kings in the IPL. He was very interested in SA20, he was saying before the tournament that he is hoping that it’s a huge success… wants to see South African cricket strong," Smith signed off.

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