South Africa’s Mzansi Super League (MSL)'s 2020-21 edition has been postponed by a year due to the restrictions on international travel and in-stadia attendance and logistical issues in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Monday (September 28) announced the postponement of the 2020-21 Mzansi Super League (MSL) citing the “various national and international logistical reasons caused by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The third edition of the MSL – South Africa’s domestic franchise T20 tournament, was originally scheduled to be played in the usual November-December window with the addition of two new franchises based in Bloemfontein and East London.
But now he various issues including the “absence of a broadcast and sponsorship deal” forced the CSA to postponed the MSL by a year and it will now be played in November-December 2021.
The CSA said in a statement: “Cricket South Africa (CSA) regrets to confirm that the 2020 edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL) has been postponed to November December 2021.”
Meanwhile, CSA’s acting CEO, Kugandrie Govender stated: “The impact of revised calendars for international cricket across all ICC Members and other T20 leagues, has had a knock-on effect on South African cricket scheduling. The Covid-19 restrictions and uncertainty around international travel, including the state of control of South African borders, as well as border control at the country points of departure of international players, also compelled CSA to make this rational decision.”
She added, “Also, the unavailability of national players due to a revised and saturated season, would have diluted the quality that CSA envisions for MSL. The fact that we would have to play in empty grounds was another consideration, not only financially but also for player morale and team spirit, which links to fan support. The atmosphere and encouragement our fans have brought to the first two editions have been significant and contributed incredibly to the MSL's success. We would not want to lose out on that or the opportunity to position the league as an important way to attract new fans to the game.”
Govender also confirmed that the CSA will host a single-round domestic franchise T20 competition early next year to “give players ample time to prepare and stadiums the chance to recover financially by welcoming fans back to support their favorite domestic players.”
She signed off by saying, “As the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in India from October to November 2021, we understand the importance of providing domestic cricketers the opportunity to impress for selection. Therefore, in lieu of the MSL T20, CSA will stage a single-round domestic franchise T20 competition early next year.”
(With PTI Inputs)
