New CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki will have to address a lot of issues

Cricket South Africa appointed Pholetsi Moseki as their new CEO last week. The cricketing body has not had a permanent chief since Thabang Moore vacated the post in 2020 under a cloud of controversy. Moseki was given the role on a permanent basis after acting as an interim CEO in December.

Cricket South Africa is undergoing a turbulent period as the country goes into further economic decline. Apart from constant government interference with regard to transformation targets, CSA faces a never-ending battle with the SACA (South Africa Cricketers' Association) over players' terms and demands. The new CEO has a lot on his table to look into.

Increasing the volume of centrally-contracted players

Only a 16-man central contract list was declared last year, which was retained this year as well. Among these players, seven of them have IPL contracts for which they are given NOCs (as was mutually agreed by SACA and CSA). Rassie van der Dussen became the eighth player at this year's auction.

With many top domestic talents migrating to Namibia, the Netherlands and Ireland, South Africa face an exodus of players following the culmination of the Kolpak deal. At the same time, several of their own players who left on Kolpak are also coming back such as Kyle Abbott, Duanne Olivier and Simon Harmer.

Moseki has to ensure that these players, who are proven performers, are not castigated to the sidelines following their past decisions to migrate. They have to be streamlined so they are not lost to other franchise leagues.

Apart from these individuals, CSA also faces the challenging task of retaining the cream of the domestic crop who have been playing for many years.

This can only be solved if Moseki is willing to expand the list of centrally-contracted players to a minimum of twenty. On top of that, he can gain some leverage by dropping those players' who are specifically degrading the longer formats for franchise money.

Quinton de Kock is a perfect example. With an IPL contract worth more than his central-contract with CSA, South Africa will be better off giving the contract to a domestic stalwart whose performances are proven. This will create an atmosphere of financial security among the players who are knocking on the doors of the national team.

More Sponsors

Finance has been a big bottleneck for South African cricket in recent years. Sponsors form a big part of the revenue stream apart from broadcasters and crowd attendees. Apart from T20s, South Africa's crowd attendance is significantly lower in venues other than Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Cricket South Africa have lost Standard Bank as their title sponsor and have not been able to get KFC on board for ODI cricket. Meanwhile, Momentum decided to abandon their contract for the men's team a couple of years ago and Castle Lager's five-year deal signed in 2016 is yet to be renewed.

Moseki has to find quality sponsors in formats other than T20s. Creating trust in the investing regime is a must if South African cricket are to overcome their financial crunch.