The third edition of the SA20 is set to get underway on Thursday with the first clash between defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape and MI Cape Town at the St George’s Park in Gqeberha. SA20 ambassador and former South Africa and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star AB de Villiers spoke to select media persons to share his thoughts about the upcoming SA20 Season 3.
AB de Villiers was, of course, asked the one player to watch out for in SA20 Season 3 and his reply was a new recruit of Delhi Capitals in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. We are talking about hard-hitting South African batter Donovan Ferreira, who was bought for Rs 75 lakh in the IPL 2025 mega auction last year, and will be joining the Delhi franchise from Rajasthan Royals.
Ferreira turns out for Joburg Super Kings in SA20, the sister franchise of MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings. De Villiers made a massive statement claiming that Ferreira reminded him of MS Dhoni in his prime!
“One player who stands out for me is Donovan Ferreira. But he bats too low down the order to make a big impact. I would love to see him bat at no. 3 or 4 position in the SA20 season 3 instead of batting at No. 6. He reminds me of MS Dhoni in his prime, when he made top bowlers like Dale Steyn and Mitchell Starc scared of bowling to him,” AB de Villiers said on Tuesday.
Donovan “The Don” Ferreira has arrived and he is here to stay
He will play for the Rajastan Royals in the IPL#SA20pic.twitter.com/VmIukWzgmd
— Werner (@Werries_) January 11, 2023
The third season of the SA20 will finally see some Indian participation with former India and RCB wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik joining the Paarl Royals. But De Villiers hopes that one day likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant will also be able to play in SA20.
“I, of course, want to see the current Indian players like Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Sky (Suryakumar Yadav) and Rishabh Pant playing in SA20, that is the dream. Among the former players, it will be nice if someone like Robin Uthappa, Zaheer Khan or Irfan Pathan could join DK here. I know Uthappa has been playing around the world, it would be nice if DK and Uthappa can end their careers in SA20,” De Villiers added.
Former RCB star AB de Villiers was impressed with what he had seen of Dinesh Karthik in the IPL in recent years. The former India wicketkeeper had announced his international retirement back in June last year and as a result became eligible to play in a foreign league according to BCCI rules.
“Last time I had watched DK play, he appeared to be in great form, playing the role of finisher brilliantly for RCB. He has the experience of playing in South Africa and I am hoping that he will do well for Paarl Royals side,” De Villiers said about Dinesh Karthik.
