Predicting the top 3 most expensive bowlers in SA20 Auction 2024 ft. Kane Richardson

The thrills and spills of SA20 are back following the tremendous success of the inaugural season earlier this year. While the action gets underway in January next year, the auction for the 2024 season is all set to take place on Wednesday.

The six participating teams have retained several players from last season, leaving them with 3-6 spots each to complete their rosters. A total of 257 players, including 122 overseas cricketers across 14 countries, will go under the hammer in a bid to play in the upcoming South African T20 league.

Much like the other T20 leagues around the globe, the SA20 will also revamp its knockout stages to a playoff format (qualifier-eliminator-final) compared to the semi-final and final setup from a year ago.

There is also a new rookie player pick for players under 22 who have not been contracted to the SA20 before. The MI Cape Town, who finished at the bottom last season, will have the first rookie draft pick, with the remaining based on the reverse order of where the franchises finished last season.

Led by Aiden Markram, the SunRisers Eastern Cape won the inaugural SA20, and they will have the other sides looking to bolster their lineup to dethrone them as champions.

The age-old cliche of "batters win matches and bowlers win tournaments holds much truth on the pitches in South Africa, evidenced by the SunRisers boasting the leading wicket-taker in Roelof Van der Merwe.

As we look ahead to what the auction offers as far as bowlers go, it is worth mentioning that Pakistan speedster Naseem Shah's injury can play a crucial role in teams not punting on him. While he would have likely been a no-brainer first choice among bowlers, there are skeptics about his selection to one of the franchises due to the injury.

Nevertheless, there are several other prominent names among bowlers that the teams will go hammer and tongs for. Here, we predict the top three most expensive bowlers in the SA20 Auction 2024.

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#1 Kane Richardson

Kane Richardson is arguably the most accomplished T20 bowler in the SA20 auction.

Australian right-arm pacer Kane Richardson will likely be the most sought-after bowler in the SA20 auction, thanks to his vast experience in various T20 leagues across the globe.

The 32-year-old was part of the Australian side that finally broke through and won their maiden T20 World Cup in 2021. Renowned for his uncanny ability to bowl in the powerplay and at the death with well-directed yorkers and slower deliveries, Richardson becomes an asset for any T20 side.

The veteran pacer is also the third leading wicket-taker in Big Bash League history, with 129 scalps in 122 games. Richardson also led the wicket-taking charts in the Melbourne Renegades' title-winning run in 2018-19.

He has also played 35 T20Is for Australia and boasts impressive numbers with 44 wickets at an average of 23.29, including a sensational 15 scalps in nine games last year. More recently, Richardson had a decent season for the Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, with six wickets in seven games.

The wily pacer has also played for three IPL franchises in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2021 and has over 270 wickets in T20 cricket (international and domestic) in 215 games.

Starting with the highest possible base price of R 850,000, expect Kane Richardson to be involved in a bidding war among all six teams. Among the four teams with over five million to spend, last year's bottom feeders MI CapeTown and second-place Joburg Super Kings could go all out for the veteran pacer.

While MI could miss the services of their ace pacer, Jofra Archer, the Super Kings roster lacks an out-and-out accomplished seamer.

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#2 Josh Tongue

Tongue made his international debut earlier this year.

England's Josh Tongue is arguably the most exciting pacer in world cricket, with the rare ability to bowl at speeds of over 90 mph. The 25-year-old should be the ideal bowler for the quick and bouncy South African pitches in the SA20, with several teams searching for an out-an-out pacer.

The Worcestershire bowler boasts an impeccable first-class record of 177 wickets in 50 games, earning him a place in the England Test squad. Tongue immediately impressed with a five-wicket haul against Ireland and picked up superstar batters David Warner and Steve Smith in his lone Ashes game.

There were still skeptics about his ability with the white-ball in the shortest format. However, the express pacer quashed those with his performance in the recently concluded Hundred.

Until suffering a pectoral injury, Tongue picked up an impressive seven wickets in five games at an average of under 18. Thanks to his apparent skillset, England selected him for their white-ball side for the series against New Zealand before replacing him with Chris Jordan due to an injury.

With the tournament still four months away, Tongue should be fit and raring to rattle batters with his deceptively high pace and the ability to move the ball both ways.

Much like Kane Richardson, Tongue starts at a base price of R 850,000 and could have numerous teams engaged in a battle to land the talented seamer.

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#3 Fred Klaassen

Klaassen starred for the Netherlands in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup.

A left-arm seamer who can bowl at any stage of a T20 innings is as valuable a commodity as any, and Netherlands' Fred Klaassen ticks all those boxes.

In the recent Vitality Blast, the 30-year-old picked up seven wickets in five games for Kent. While his domestic T20 numbers are impressive, with 112 scalps in 103 games, his exploits at the international level have been staggering.

Klaassen has picked up 40 wickets in 37 T20I games for the Netherlands, with an average under 24 and an economy of less than 7.40 runs per over.

Beyond numbers, the left-arm pacer has displayed the ability to step up in the crucial games, including the previous two T20 World Cups.

In three games in the 2021 edition, Klaassen picked up two wickets at less than five runs an over. However, it was the T20 World Cup last year that the veteran pacer made himself a well-renowned name in World cricket.

He picked up an incredible 2/13 against UAE in the opening game of the World Cup Qualifier, followed by another economical spell against Namibia to help the Netherlands qualify for the main tournament.

Klaassen then picked up a wicket each against Bangladesh and India in the World Cup before producing a spell of 1/17 in four overs in the upset win against Zimbabwe.

However, the 30-year-old rose to fame with his 2/20 against South Africa in the final Group stage game to send the Proteas packing and help the Dutch register a 13-run win in their defense of 158.

Although priced at R 425,000, expect almost all the teams to go after the reliable Netherlands pacer, whose skill set and left-arm pace should be perfect for the South African conditions.